Trailing by two shots with four holes to play at the Genesis Championship, Ben An needed a spark.
He then pulled off one of the shots of the year.
This isn’t necessarily the type of shot you’d try at home, a 290-yard driver off the deck – a wet deck – with mostly carry, and water and some rocks guarding much of the left side of Jack Nicklaus Golf Club’s par-5 15th hole. But An, with time running out on Sunday in Incheon, South Korea, had to take the chance in front of his home fans.
“This is a big gamble here,” said the TV announcer as An pulled the club back.
When the ball landed on the front of the elevated green and rolled about 9 feet past before settling, the same announcer added, “Are you kidding me?”
“No one saw that coming, apart from him,” added the broadcast’s analyst.
An would two-putt for birdie, one of three birdies in his final four holes to polish off a 5-under 67 and get into the clubhouse at 17 under. Tom Kim, who was co-leading at the time of An’s D.O.D. masterpiece, lipped out an 8-foot birdie putt at the last that would’ve won him the tournament outright.
Kim’s misfortune continued in extra holes as he bogeyed the par-5 18th, giving An two putts from short distance to win his second DP World Tour title – and first since the 2015 BMW PGA Championship. He only needed one.
“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,” An said. “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.
“It’s a sweet ending for this year.”
An now has six worldwide top-10s this year, his best mark since 2018, and will rise to No. 27 in the Official World Golf Ranking, just four spots shy of his career-best ranking.
Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia, who played collegiately at UCF, finished third, a shot back, followed by France’s Antoine Rozner in fourth and Italy’s Guido Migliozzi in fifth. Gouveia jumped 54 spots in the Race to Dubai, and though at No. 100 in points, he fell short of the top 70, which will qualify for next week’s playoff opener, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, he did crack the top 114 to keep his DPWT card for next year.
“I’m obviously over the moon just to keep my rights for next year, it’s unbelievable,” Gouveia said. “I was trying to win the tournament, but at the same time, the last few holes I knew what my position was so a mix of emotions but so happy, over the moon.”
Marco Penge, No. 115 in points to start the week, made the cut on the number after a 36th-hole birdie before shooting 67 on Sunday to tied for 22nd and keep his card as well.
“Today was probably the best I’ve played all year really,” Penge said. “To play the way I did today under the pressure that I was under, yeah, pretty speechless at the moment. Just over the moon that it’s done to be honest. I can’t wait to get home and spend some time with my wife and son. My son was born four and a half months ago, and I feel like I’ve only been with him for about a week, so these times are worth it.”
South Africa’s Casey Jarvis and Italy’s Francesco Laporta both tied for sixth and moved inside the top 70, as Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard and Brandon Stone, who each tied for ninth.
