Young Korean Byeong Hun An has been named the Hilton European Tour Golfer of the Month for May in recognition of his brilliant, record-breaking victory in the BMW PGA Championship.
The 23 year old rookie produced a mesmerising display on his first appearance at Wentworth Club, thrilling the huge crowds with rounds of 71-64-67-65 for a 21 under par total, a record low in relation to par for The European Tour’s flagship event.
Belying his tender years, An shrugged off the pressure of sharing the lead heading into the final day of such a prestigious event to leave many vastly more experienced rivals trailing in his wake, cruising to a six shot victory from Miguel Angel Jiménez and Thongchai Jaidee.
The Challenge Tour graduate is the first Asian winner of the BMW PGA Championship, and as well as pocketing the €833,330 first prize, he earned a place at the US Open Championship and the Open Championship this summer.
“It feels fantastic to win this award and I’m grateful for the panel for voting for me,” said An, who receives Hilton HHonours Diamond Elite Status, the highest tier of Hilton’s renowned loyalty scheme, for his achievement.
“It’s a huge honour to be the first Asian winner of the BMW PGA Championship, and to win The European Tour’s flagship event in my rookie season is a dream come true. It’s easily the highlight as a professional so far, and I hope I can build on this and have a long and successful career.”
Popular Dane Søren Kjeldsen was another of the six players considered for the May award, after he won his first European Tour title in six years at the star-studded Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation, as was Rory McIlroy himself for his victory in the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship.
Englishman James Morrison, who won the Open de España – his first title since 2010 – and South African George Coetzee, winner of the inaugural AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, were in the mix, while evergreen Spaniard Jiménez was in contention following back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Open de España and BMW PGA Championship, where he took his career hole-in-one tally to ten, so setting a new European Tour record.
However, the panel – which met during the Nordea Masters in Sweden and comprised journalists from television, radio, print and photography – voted in favour of An, with Kjeldsen a close second and Morrison third.
Panel member Richard Boxall, a respected commentator for Sky Sports, said: “The manner in which Byeong-hun An won the BMW PGA Championship was so impressive. Not only did he win his first European Tour title in the flagship event, he did so in superb style, completely unfazed by the pressure and the vastly more experienced players chasing him.
“He’s a huge talent and has shown he’s got the maturity and attitude to go with it, so I can see him going far in the game.”
Like the last two months, fans of ‘My European Tour’ were also involved in the award, with the new format allowing them to vote at www.europeantour.com and try to match the expert panel’s 1-2-3 for May.
This month’s winner, along with each of the other monthly winners from March to September, will earn a two-night stay at any Hilton Portfolio hotel worldwide, while all seven winners will be entered into a prize draw to win an incredible three-night stay in Dubai for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
An joins Danny Willett (December), Gary Stal (January), Anirban Lahiri (February), Richie Ramsay (March) and Wu Ashun (April) as contenders for The 2015 European Tour Golfer of the Year, which will be decided by a selection panel at the culmination of the Dubai event.
