Byeong Hun An is hoping the confidence he gained from winning The European Tour’s flagship event earlier this season will prove beneficial when he makes his debut in a World Golf Championships event this week.
The 23 year old Korean, who graduated from European Challenge Tour last year, announced himself to the wider world in some style when he won the BMW PGA Championship by an impressive six shots on his first appearance at Wentworth Club in May, a victory which earned him qualification for this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
He now takes his place as part of a strong contingent of 35 European Tour members in Akron, joining Andrew Dodt, Brooks Koepka, Anirban Lahiri, David Lipsky, Gary Stal and Marc Warren in teeing it up for the first time at Firestone Country Club.
I have goals, but not expectations.
Byeong Hun An
Out of the seven European Tour debutants, only An is sampling a WGC event for the first time, as he continues his golfing education at the very highest level. And having already triumphed at one of the most prestigious tournaments on The Race to Dubai at the first attempt, he sees no reason why he cannot contend at the business end of the leaderboard once more this week.
“It’s a limited field which includes 48 of the top 50 in the world, so it’s a huge week,” said An. “In many ways it is as big as the Majors, because there is no other qualifying to get in other than being in the top 50 or winning a big event. I’m looking forward to it. It’s a good course, and a good field, so I can’t wait to play.
“I still have a long way to go in my progression as a player. But playing in bigger events will help with that. This is a big opportunity for me. I’ve played in The Open, I’ve got the US PGA Championship next week, and now my first WGC. The victory at Wentworth opened up a lot of things for me and I’m really enjoying it so far.
“Winning the BMW PGA Championship has definitely given me more confidence in playing events like this. It is a similar status tournament to a WGC in many ways. I played so well that week at Wentworth, winning by six shots from good players like Thongchai Jaidee and Francesco Molinari, and it means I know I can do well in tournaments as big as this. Hopefully this week, if I play well, I can compete again.”
An’s maiden victory in the BMW PGA Championship may have altered his schedule and his goals, including qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games - now exactly a year away - a realistic target, but he is keen not to put any added pressure on himself.
“There are no extra expectations from me,” he said. “I’m trying not to put pressure on myself. I have goals, but not expectations.
“Before I won I was playing well and probably had enough to keep my card for next year. But the win helped raised my ranking and changed my goals and schedule. Since I won I’ve played ok, but I’ve not played great.
“I played fairly well in Ireland and France. In Ireland it was tough after winning the week before – I was tired and there was probably more pressure on me. Then in France I played really well other on the 16th hole, where I made a seven. Apart from that it should have been a top ten that week easily, even a top five. Then I didn’t putt well at the Scottish Open or The Open. But with golf you never know when that good week will happen again, and it could be here.”
With Firestone Country Club hosting the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational for the 16th time this week, many of the seasoned European Tour players will not arrive until Wednesday, but An has already been busy building his knowledge of the course.
“This tournament has been here forever but I’m the rookie, so I’m here early,” he said. “I always play Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and I’m trying to keep to my plans. There aren’t many guys here yet, but hopefully I will get to play with someone experienced and learn a few things from them.”
