Byeong-hun An Facts: 20 Things To Know About South Korean Star Ben An

Byeong-hun An is one of South Korea's top male golfers and turned pro two years after becoming the youngest winner of the prestigious US Amateur Championship in 2009.

An has gone on to win the DP World Tour's flagship BMW PGA Championship as a pro and play in multiple Olympic Games.

Get to know him better with these 20 facts...

Byeong-hun An facts:

1. An is also known as 'Ben An'.

2. He was born in Seoul, South Korea.

3. His parents are Jae Hyung Ahn and Zhimin Jiao. They both participated in table tennis at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, with his mom earning a silver (women's doubles) and bronze (women's singles) medal for China, and his dad picking up a bronze (men's doubles) for South Korea.

4. An moved to the United States in December 2005 to attend the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

5. He would also attend the University of California-Berkeley after being one of the most highly sought-after recruits in the United States at the time.

6. In August 2009 An became the youngest-ever winner of the US Amateur Championship when he defeated Ben Martin 7&5 in the 36-hole final at Southern Hills Country Club in Oklahoma. He was 17 at the time.

7. When An turned professional in 2011, he followed a piece of advice from Wally Uihlein, Titleist’s Chief Executive at the time, to play in Europe and earned a spot on the Challenge Tour via qualifying school.

8. He won his maiden pro title on the Challenge Tour at the Rolex Trophy. He became the first Korean to win on the European Tour's feeder circuit.

9. In 2015, he won his first European Tour title by six strokes in the flagship BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

10. An was named Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on the European Tour in 2015.

11. He won the 2015 Shinhan Donghae Open on the Korean Tour, where he beat PGA Tour winner Seung-yul Noh by a single stroke.

12. An played for the International Team in the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. He won 2 points from five matches.

13. He won his first title in six-and-a-half years at the LECOM Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour in early 2022.

14. He received a three-month suspension from the PGA Tour in 2023 after testing positive for a banned substance. It emerged that the substance was in an over-the-counter cough medicine he had bought in South Korea.

15. He has lost in three playoffs on the PGA Tour.

16. Despite playing in more than 30 Majors, he is yet to record a top-10 finish. His best result is a T13 at the 2024 Open.

17. He made a hole-in-one during the final round of the 2020 PGA Championship, acing the 189-yard 11th at TPC Harding Park.

18. He married his wife Heejae in 2018 and the couple have two children together.

19. He has won over $18m on the PGA Tour.

20. He played in the Rio 2016 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.