Interview: An Byeong-hun has a shot at glory in return to Presidents Cup

An Byeong-hun will be back in Presidents Cup action on the PGA Tour that tees off on Sept. 26, a tournament that is “one of my priority goals,” he told the PGA Tour, a content partner of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

An Byeong-hun of the International Team reacts on the 17th green during four-ball matches on day three of the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Course on Dec. 14, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. [GETTY IMAGES]

An Byeong-hun will be back in Presidents Cup action on the PGA Tour that tees off Thursday, a tournament that is “one of my priority goals,” he told the PGA Tour, a content partner of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

First started in 1994, the Presidents Cup is a series of men’s golf contests between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe.

This year’s International Team, which includes An and fellow Korean golfers on the PGA Tour like Tom Kim, Im Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo and is captained by Canada’s Mike Weir, will vie to become the first International Team to win since 1998, against some tough opponents from the United States such as World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Xander Schauffele.

For An, this year is his second time competing in the tournament after the 2019 President Cup during which he won a point in his first match against Adam Scott.

“It's very unique. You play for the team and they are great team members. I wish we would have won,” An said about the 2019 tournament. “We lost a couple of matches on the 18th hole, so that was disappointing. But when we get the points, it is satisfying. I guess winning a point in my first match with Adam is something I'll never forget. I think we won on the 17th hole and the whole experience was amazing. It was my first time playing in front of the Aussie crowds. I'm looking forward to Royal Montreal.”

An also competed under the team’s logo, the Shield, during the 2019 Presidents Cup, which he remembers vividly.

Ahead of the tournaments teeing off at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada, the PGA Tour spoke with An about what competing in the President Cup means for him.

The following are edited excerpts from the interview. Q. What does the Presidents Cup mean to you? How does it rank among the other big events on the PGA Tour?

A. It was one of my priority goals for this year to make the Presidents Cup team. So, this definitely sits alongside the majors for me. What does it mean to be back on this International Team after losing your PGA Tour card a few years ago? What did you learn about yourself through that process?

Every other year, we’ve got the Presidents Cup and it is my goal to play in it. In 2022, I missed out but I always wanted to get back on the team. I know it is not easy to get into the team because you’ve got such strong international players. That’s why I think Adam Scott making another Presidents Cup is pretty impressive because I think he's played 10 already. I'm glad to be back. And now hopefully, I will never miss it again. How’s Mike Weir been as captain in the lead-up to the event?

It's been great. You know, he kept in contact with us all the time. He showed up in full-field events and organized team dinners every now and then. It's good to know your potential teammates. That's a lot better than showing up in Montreal and meeting them for the first time. It's been great. He’s been a great captain and hopefully, he can lead us to the victory. How exciting is it to have a strong Korean presence on the team this year? What qualities do you all bring and what does this mean for golf back in Korea and Asia?

There are a lot of good players from Korea. We’ve got Im Sung-jae, Tom Kim and Kim Si-woo in the team. We definitely have a lot of potential to compete. In the last Presidents Cup, there were four Koreans too. And this year, we’ve got a few and they're all great golfers and capable of getting a lot of points. You wore the Shield when it was introduced by Ernie Els back in 2019. Was it easy for you to buy into the new team logo?

An Byeong-hun and Adam Scott of Australia and the International Team react on the 17th green during four-ball matches on day three of the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Course on Dec. 14, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. [GETTY IMAGES]

It was very easy. 2019 was the first time Ernie introduced it, but it was probably a year back before we played the event that we knew we're going to play for the Shield. The International Team was kind of being from all over the place. 2019 was the first time we played under the Shield and it was great being united as a team and we had a great showing. How do you differentiate the meaning of the Shield and the Korean flag, or do the two go hand-in-hand now?

Yeah, pretty much. I'm also representing Korea but I guess the Shield is a bit bigger because you’ve got more countries to play for with all the international countries, apart from the United States and Europe. What is it about this event that brings out so much emotion and the heightened camaraderie?

It's interesting. I'm kind of the same way and I don't really show much emotion in other tournaments. But the Presidents Cup brings a lot of excitement. You play as a team, feeling like you contributed something, you know, making a putt here and there. It just brings something out of the players. It's a very unique event. Watching the Presidents Cup in 2022 on TV, did it make you want to fight for your place on this team again?

Yeah, definitely. I watched the whole event on TV and unfortunately we lost. But it's a great atmosphere. I know what they're playing for and the conditions they were under, you know, and it was pretty exciting golf so I wanted to be part of the team. Obviously the U.S. Team has won the last nine Presidents Cup. What would it mean if you can be to part of a winning International Team? What must be done in order for the International Team to be successful?

I mean, the record is not great but I think the last few times when we played away from the United States, you know, in 2015 in Korea, we came close. And then in 2019 in Australia, we led into Sunday and lost in the singles. It’s been pretty close over the last few so hopefully in Canada, we have a great run again and I really think we have a pretty decent team and I’m sure Mike will come up with the right pairings to get us the points. We are usually pretty good at fourballs and foursomes, so we’ve got to get a lot of points out of it and hopefully we can beat them in singles. And I really think we have a great chance.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]