Byeong-Hun An "Fourth 'Top 10'~"... Simpson Wins in Playoff

Phoenix Open Final Day 1-Over Par 'Stumble', Pinau 2nd, Thomas 3rd, Im Sungjae 34th

Ahn Byung-hoon is teeing off on the 2nd hole on the final day of the Phoenix Open. Scottsdale, Arizona, USA = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] An Byeong-hun (29, CJ Logistics) enters the 'Top 10'.

On the 3rd (Korean time), at the Scottsdale Golf Club (par 71, 7,261 yards) in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, the final day of the PGA Tour 2019/2020 season Waste Management Phoenix Open (total prize money $7.3 million) ended with An Byeong-hun losing one stroke to finish tied for 9th place (11 under par 273). Once again, he failed to secure his first PGA Tour victory. This is his fourth 'Top 10' finish of the season since tying for 8th at the Zozo Championship last October.

An Byeong-hun started tied for 8th, 4 strokes behind the leader, making 2 birdies and 3 bogeys. Although birdies on holes 1 and 4 seemed to ignite a chance for a comeback victory, a bogey on the 6th hole (par 4) halted his momentum. In the back nine, he recorded no birdies and only two bogeys on holes 11 and 15. His powerful long drives stood out, averaging 318 yards. However, his fairway hit rate (64.29%) and greens in regulation (61.11%) remained in the 60% range, making it difficult to create birdie opportunities.

His putting per hole also rose to 2.09. After a smooth start with 6 under par on the first day and 5 under par on the second, his 1 under par on the third day became a critical setback. An Byeong-hun is well-known as the son of An Jae-hyung and Zhao Zimin, the famous 'table tennis couple.' He caused a stir by winning the 2015 European Tour major BMW PGA Championship, and in 2016, as a top-ranked player in the world rankings, he participated in 14 PGA Tour events, securing a 'direct ticket' by finishing 111th in the money rankings.

He has been frustrated by three runner-up finishes: the Zurich Classic in May 2016, the Memorial Tournament in June 2018, and the RBC Canadian Open in July 2018. Webb Simpson added 2 under par to tie with Tony Finau (both from the USA) at 17 under par 267, then clinched the victory with a 'winning birdie' on the first hole of the playoff resumed at the 18th hole (par 4). This marked his 6th career win, his first in 1 year and 9 months since the 2018 Players Championship, with a winner's prize of $1,314,000 (15.7 billion KRW).

Simpson showed fierce resilience by making consecutive birdies on holes 17 and 18 to level the match. On the other hand, Finau hung his head after missing a 2.7-meter birdie putt on the 18th hole. Since his first career win at the Puerto Rico Open in March 2016, he has gone four years without a title. Finau wore the jersey of NBA star Kobe Bryant, who passed away in a helicopter crash, while playing on the 16th hole (par 3) throughout the four days.

World No. 4 Justin Thomas (USA) posted a daily best 6 under par to leap into a tie for 3rd place (14 under par 270). This is his fourth 'Top 5' finish this season, including two wins. Defending champion Rickie Fowler (USA) ended his bid for a second consecutive title tied for 37th (7 under par 277). South Korea's Im Sung-jae (22) tied for 34th (8 under par 276), Kang Sung-hoon (33, both CJ Logistics) tied for 52nd (2 under par 282), and Choi Kyung-ju (50, SK Telecom) tied for 55th (1 under par 283).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.