SUNDAY MAY 24, 2015 – BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
• His first European Tour International Schedule victory in his 31st European Tour event.
• Moves to 1,121,706 points in The Race to Dubai.
• Could move into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, from 132nd.
• This victory beats his previous best European Tour performance of tied fifth in the 2015 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
• Becomes the seventh first-time winner of the 2015 European Tour season. They are: Andy Sullivan (South African Open Championship Hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni), Gary Stal (Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship), Anirban Lahiri (Maybank Malaysian Open), Trevor Fisher Jnr (Africa Open), Jordan Spieth (Masters Tournament), Wu Ashun (Volvo China Open) and Byeong-Hun An (BMW PGA Championship).
• Victory comes in his first appearance in the BMW PGA Championship.
• Becomes the first player to win the BMW PGA Championship on their debut since Scott Drummond in 2004.
• Follows Ken Bousfield (1955 – first playing), Charlie Ward (1956), Bernard Gallacher (1969), Arnold Palmer (1975) and Scott Drummond (2004), to win the Championship on their first appearance.
• Is in his rookie season on The European Tour. Becomes the first rookie to win the BMW PGA Championship since Scott Drummond in 2004.
• Becomes only the third rookie in the history of the Championship to win, following Bernard Gallacher (1969) and Scott Drummond (2004).
• Follows Arnold Palmer (1975), Anders Hansen (2002) and Scott Drummond (2004), as players to make the Championship their first European Tour victory.
• Graduated from the Challenge Tour Rankings in 2014. Becomes only the second player to graduate from the Challenge Tour and win the Championship the following year, after Scott Drummond in 2004.
OTHER FACTS
• His winning aggregate of 267 (-21) is the lowest in relation to par in the history of the BMW PGA Championship. This beats the previous best of 19 under by Anders Hansen (2002) and Scott Drummond (2004).
• His total of 267 (-21) is the second lowest winning total, one behind Brain Bamford’s mark of 266 in 1961.
• His winning margin of six shots is the largest since Bernhard Langer won by six in 1993.
• His final of 65 (-7) was the lowest score of the day.
• His final round of 65 (-7) is only one outside the lowest final round by a winner in the history of the Championship.
• His six shot winning margin is the second biggest of the 2015 European Tour season, behind Branden Grace (Alfred Dunhill Championship, who won by seven).
• Follows Costantino Rocca (1996), Anders Hansen (2002 and 2007), Ignacio Garrido (2003), Scott Drummond (2004) and Simon Khan (2010), as former Challenge Tour players to win the BMW PGA Championship.
• Is in his rookie year on The European Tour. Becomes the first rookie to win on The European Tour since Anirban Lahiri (2015 Maybank Malaysian Open and 2015 Hero Indian Open).
• Graduated from the 2014 Challenge Tour Rankings. Becomes the first of last season’s Challenge Tour graduates to win on the 2015 European Tour Schedule. Is the first Challenge Tour graduate to win on The European Tour the year after graduation since Brooks Koepka (2014 Turkish Airlines Open by the Ministry of Youth and Sports).
• Becomes the first Asian player to win the BMW PGA Championship.
• South Korea becomes the 14th different country to win the BMW PGA Championship since the event began in 1955.
• Becomes the eighth South Korean victory in European Tour history.
• Becomes the sixth different South Korean player to win in European Tour history.
• Becomes the first South Korean victory on The European Tour since Jin Jeong (2013 ISPS HANDA Perth International).
• Becomes the 16th different Asian player to win in European Tour history.
• Becomes the second Asian player to win an official European Tour event on English soil following Isao Aoki (1983 European Open at Sunningdale. He also won the 1978 World Match Play Championship, here at Wentworth. This was then a European Tour Approved Special Event).
• Becomes the 27th different Challenge Tour graduate to win on The European Tour the year after graduation.
• Becomes the 29th European Tour victory by Challenge Tour players the year after graduation.
• Becomes the 47th different rookie to win in European Tour history.
• Becomes the 52nd rookie victory in European Tour history.
• Gains a European Tour exemption until the end of 2020.
• Gains his largest European Tour prize of €833,330.
• Gains his second victory as a professional.
• Gains a place in the 2015 US Open Championship.
• Gains a three year exemption into The Open Championship.
• Becomes the 21st h winner of the BMW PGA Championship from a player in their 20s. An is 23.
• Becomes the third consecutive player in their 20s to win the BMW PGA Championship, following Matteo Manassero (20 in 2013) and Rory McIlroy (25 in 2014).
• The first time the Championship has witnessed three consecutive winners in their 20s since, Seve Ballesteros (26 in 1983), Howard Clark (29 in 1984) and Paul Way (22 in 1985).
• Leading going into the final round of a European Tour event for the first time. The 12th time this season the 54 hole leader has gone onto win and eighth stroke play winner in a row, dating back to George Coetzee at the Tshwane Open.
• The 16th time the 54 hole leader has gone onto win the BMW PGA Championship since 1984. (Howard Clark did win in 1984 and lead going into the final round but the event was cut to 54 holes).
• The 47th different winner in the Championship’s 61st edition.
• Becomes the sixth European Tour victory on the 2015 European Tour by a former Challenge Tour player. They are: Branden Grace (Alfred Dunhill Championship and Commercial Bank Qatar Masters), Gary Stal (Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship), Richie Ramsay (Trophée Hassan II), James Morrison (Open de España) and Byeong-Hun An (BMW PGA Championship).
• Becomes the 360th European Tour victory by a former Challenge Tour player.
• Becomes the 140th former Challenge Tour player to win on The European Tour.
