An Byeong-hun, new Korean golf sensation, ranks 52nd in world rankings

An Byeong-hun, an emerging Korean golf sensation, is ranking 52nd in global rankings this week. The 24-year-old, who has secured the highest rank among the Korean male golfers, has risen to 23rd in the rankings that will serve as a barometer for golfers’ qualifications to participate in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2015. He thus is the highest-ranking Korean golfer in this category as well.

Sixty male and female golfers each will take part in next year’s Olympics. An Byeong-hun set participation at an Olympic event as his biggest career goal, as he was influenced by both his father An Jae-hyeong, a table tennis Olympic medalist and incumbent coach for the Korean national team, and his ethnic Chinese mother. His global ranking was beyond 100th until early this year, and hence it appeared to be almost impossible for him to participate in the Olympics. However he saw a turning point in his golf career last month by winning the BMW PGA championship, a top-rated tournament in the European Tour, he took a giant step forward towards joining the national golf team for the Olympics.

Since An is poised to more frequently take part in major championships in the coming months, he is expected to elevate his ranking even further. The next event An is set to partake is the U.S. Open, the second major event of the PGA tour that will take place at Chambers Bay country club in the state of Washington on June 18. Ahead of the upcoming competition, An has decided to skip European tour championships for two consecutive weeks, and instead focus on boosting his conditions in Orlando, Florida. His father An Jae-hyeong said, “The venue of this year’s U.S. Open is the place where the U.S. Amateur Championship took place, in which Byeong-hun participated and advanced to the quarterfinals in 2010. As such, he will likely find it easy to adapt himself to the course.”

kjs0123@donga.com