Korean Byeong An secures DP World Tour Championship Dubai spot after Wentworth Masterclass
Korean Challenge Tour graduate Byeong An achieved his goal of securing a place in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai at Jumeirah Golf Estates in stunning fashion with a record-breaking win at BMW PGA Championship to move to third place in The Race to Dubai. The 23-year-old shot a tournament record 21 under par 267 at Wentworth to claim his maiden European Tour title by six strokes from Miguel Angel Jimenez and Thongchai Jaidee.
“It’s like a fifth Major to me,” said An after firing a closing round of 65 to beat the previous record by two shots. “It’s the biggest title I’ve won and it gets me into a lot of events. This is life changing.”
When An came to Dubai for the Omega Dubai Desert Classic earlier this year he stated that his main aims for his debut season on The European Tour were to keep his card and to finish in the top 60 in The Race to Dubai so that he could take his place in the season-ending event at Jumeirah Golf Estates which takes place from Thursday November 19 to Sunday November 22. “That would be awesome,” the laid-back Korean said at the time.
The huge €833,330winner’s cheque An received takes his points total to 1,121,706 and means his place in the DP World Tour Championship well and truly secured with over half the season still left to play.
“I’m still really excited and over the moon right now. I wasn’t expecting this. I didn’t know that a win was this close,” continued An, who first shot to fame in 2009 when, at 17, he became the youngest winner of the US Amateur. “It came all of a sudden. I’ve been playing well all year but I never thought I would win this event.”
Such is the significance of the BMW PGA Championship that the two players who tied for secondhave also secured their places in the season-ending showcase at Jumeirah Golf Estates – reserved for the top 60 players in The Race to Dubai.
Veterans Jaidee of Thailand and Jimenez of Spain moved to seventh (897,027 points) and eighth place (873,389 points) respectively in the Rankings after both finishing on 15 under par 273 to earn €434,275 in prize money, which is converted into points in The Race to Dubai Rankings.
Italian Francesco Molinari, who led or held a share of the lead for each of the first three rounds, finished fifth behind England’s Chris Wood after a disappointing final round of 74 but the €212,000 prize money he scooped takes him to 418,727 Race to Dubai Points for the season and within touching distance of a DP World Tour Championship spot at 28th in the Rankings.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood was another player to secure his ticket to Jumeirah Golf Estates after sharing sixth place with Ireland’s Shane Lowry on 11 under par 277 to earn €162,500 and move to 13th in The Race to Dubai with 749,815 points for the season.
There are now less than six months to go before The European Tour’s top 60 players will converge at Jumeirah Golf Estates to compete for the DP World Tour Championship and decide who will be crowned winner of The Race to Dubai.
