Tom Kim skulls wedge shot on 18 to hand Ben An title on home soil
Ben An captures his second DP World Tour title and first in over nine years with a home win at the Genesis Championship in South Korea.
Ben An | -17* |
Tom Kim | -17 |
Ricardo Gouveia | -16 |
Antoine Rozner | -15 |
Guido Migliozzi | -14 |
*An won with birdie at 1st extra hole |
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Tom Kim skulled a wedge shot at the first extra hole to hand his compatriot Ben An a second DP World Tour title at the Genesis Championshjp on home soil in South Korea.
An, 33, trailed Kim by two shots with four holes to play but he clawed the deficit back to one when playing a stunning driver off the deck at the par-5 15th to 12 feet.
He would two-putt for birdie and then can a 25-footer to tie things up with Kim at the 16th.
An would drop a shot at the par-3 17th to fall one down heading down the last but he would tie things back up with a clutch 10-footer for birdie on 18.
Kim had an eight-footer for his own for birdie to win the tournament but his ball lipped out.
Back down the par-5 18th, and Kim split the fairway and An just managed to clear the water in the semi rough.
Kim then found trouble with his approach shot as his ball nestled on a grass verge on the bunker with his ball above him.
An just missed the green but set up a simple up and down for birdie.
Kim stepped in and then skulled his wedge shot over the green.
He then chipped up to five feet but would miss the par putt and hand the tournament to An, who safely got up and down for birdie.
It marked the second DP World Tour title of An's career but his first in nine and half years following his first win at the 2015 BMW PGA at Wentworth.
An collected a first prize cheque of $628,388.
"It's great, I've had a great season obviously, it's been too long (to win) on the main Tour," said An.
"All I tried to do is show some great golf in front of the home fans, it's been a while since I've played in front of them.
"It feels amazing, it's a bit of a shame that Tom had a bit of mess there, but it's been a great tournament for me, I've really enjoyed it.
"There has been a lot of fans out there supporting me and Tom, and I feel like we had a great battle today. I just got a little bit lucky to be a winner out there today I think.
"I was two shots back, I had a great driver off the deck on the front nine so I thought 'this is the one to do it'.
"The lay-up wasn't that easy and heading close to the flag, so driver was exactly how I planned it and it's a shame I missed that (eagle) putt, but I think that was the shot I needed at that moment and that made me get birdie on the following hole. I felt it was the right shot, a little aggressive, but I knew I could pull it off.
"It's a sweet ending for this year, it's been a great year. I've put a lot of work in it. It will be the same next week when I get back, another off-season that I have to work hard for to be better next year."
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