VIRGINIA WATER, SURREY, England – Byeong-hun An (71-64-67-65 – 267, -21) won his first European Tour event Sunday with a record-setting victory at the BMW PGA Championship televised live around the globe on the Golf Channel. An’s final 21-under par score at the European Tour’s flagship event that was most recently won by the world’s top-ranked golfer Rory McIlroy in 2014 set a 72-hole record. An finished with a six-shot victory after firing a seven-under par 65 in the final round that was the best of the day at the Wentworth Club.
The South Korean native was playing the event for the first time and became the first Asian player to win the event. He was also the third to win the event in their debut and earned €833,330 with the victory.
An also picked up exemptions to the 2015 U.S. Open and the next three British Opens with the victory. The win was his second as a professional following a victory at the Rolex Trophy on the Challenge Tour in 2014 and his fourth career top-10 showing on the European Tour all this season.
“It’s going to take a while [to sink in],” An said in a television interview following the victory. “This is definitely the biggest event I’ve won since I’ve turned pro. This definitely got me in a lot of events, and I’m really happy with that.”
An’s final-round seven-under par 65 on Sunday was the best of the day and included a near albatross on the par-five 12th hole when he hit his second shot to within inches of the cup and tapped in for an eagle. He also had five birdies in a bogeyless rounds with two birdies on par-five holes (4, 17), a pair on par-four holes (11, 15) and one on a par-three (2).
An also had an eight-under par round of 64 during Friday’s second round that was tied for the best of the entire event.
The 23-year-old An spent one season at Cal in 2010-11 before turning professional in 2011. An had five top-10 finishes during his lone season at Cal including a tied for fourth-place showing at the NCAA Stanford Regional that is tied for the best NCAA Regional showing ever by a Cal freshman. An was Cal’s Newcomer of the Year and an honorable mention All-Pac-10 selection.
“This was a tremendous performance by Ben but no surprise,” Cal head coach Steve Desimone said. “We were fortunate to have Ben in our program for a year. We are so happy for him and proud that he was a Golden Bear. It’s great to see such a wonderful young man win an event like this, and it’s so richly deserved. I believe this is the beginning of a wonderful career for Ben. There’s no slowing down from this point on.”
An became the youngest player to ever win the U.S. Amateur Championship prior to entering Cal when he captured the event at the age of 17 in 2009. He also reached the semifinals in 2010.
An became the second former Cal golfer to win on the European Tour with the other Charlie Wi, who captured the Maybank Malaysian Open in 2006. An also became the second former Cal player to win a professional golf event in 2015 following James Hahn’s victory at the Northern Trust Open in February.
