The ‘ole driver-off-the-deck never ceases to amaze, especially in crunch time.
Byeong Hun An hits miraculous driver-off-the-deck, defeats Tom Kim in playoff
Byeong Hun An bested Tom Kim in a playoff, but he would not have gotten there without a minor miracle.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
Just ask Byeong Hun An, who pulled off a minor miracle on Sunday in his native South Korea. During the final round of the Genesis Championship—the final event of the DP World Tour’s regular season—An trailed by two with four holes to play. He needed to make a move, so while in the fairway on the par-5 15th—293 yards away—An pulled out his driver.
“This is a big gamble here,” said the announcer on the DP World Tour broadcast.
With water short and left of the green, An’s hopes could have sunk right then and there. But his driver-off-the-deck scooted up and onto the green, coming to rest just eight feet past the pin. He did not convert the eagle opportunity but managed to salvage a birdie.
“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,’” An said of his approach on 15.
“The lay-up wasn’t that easy, and heading close to the flag, so the driver was exactly how I planned it, and it’s a shame I missed that putt, but I think that was the shot I needed at that moment, and that made me get a birdie on the following hole. I felt it was the right shot, a little aggressive, but I knew I could pull it off.”
An made two more birdies over his final three holes to force a playoff with Tom Kim, who also finished the tournament at 17-under. Kim had a chance to win outright but lipped out on the 18th hole, setting the stage for an all-South Korean playoff.
In the playoff, Kim airmailed the 18th green, which led to a bogey. Consequently, An had two putts to win and easily converted for the title—his first professional victory since 2015, when he won the Shinhan Donghae Open on the Korean Tour that September. He also won the BMW PGA Championship in May of that year, which marks his only other DP World Tour victory.
“It’s a sweet ending for this year. It’s been a great year,” An said.
“I’ve put a lot of work into 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.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
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