Korea’s Byeong Hun An always knew he was going to give back to the game of golf which had opened up new sporting horizons in his life. It finally happened through the creation of the Ben An Junior Championship which the inaugural event was launched successfully at Orange Tree Country Club in Orlando, Florida over the weekend. An, 29, used his charitable allocation presented to every team member of the 2019 Presidents Cup to fund his own junior tournament with the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), a non-profit organisation dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” said An. “As soon as I got into the Presidents Cup, AJGA was top of my list of where my funds would go.” An’s parents were Olympic medallists in table tennis but he grew up learning golf. When he was 15, they sent him to the IMG Academy at Bradenton and thus, began his junior career on the AJGA circuit which would shape his game and prepare him for life as a professional golfer. “The year I played in the Presidents Cup, some Korean juniors came over and spent a few days in my house (in Orlando) to practice and play together and it felt good to help the kids. I care if they do well and just to be able to help them, it meant a lot to me,” he said. “I played and practiced with them which was really fun. I really liked that I was able to give them information, give them little tips here and there and spent the whole day together from 7am to 8pm. If pros talked to me and helped me out when I was their age, it meant a lot. It’s good to be able to give back.” An said competing against kids his age and across different golf courses and states toughened him up as a junior golfer that he went on to produce a memorable win at the U.S. Amateur in 2009. “I started to play a lot of AJGA events, about 10 to 12 events a year. Back then, it was great fun. You see everyone who are your age and they are good golfers. It motivated me a lot as I wasn’t amongst the best ones. They were always better than me,” said An. “It helped as you play in different states, different courses. You learn a lot as you play against the best juniors. You learn so much, not just the golf but how to behave on the golf course and what you have to do. You also learn how to conduct interviews with the media. It helps overall, as a person and golfer. Definitely helped as I was able to win the U.S. Amateur.” As part of his overall support towards grassroot development, An, who won the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth in 2015 and has played on the PGA TOUR since 2016, intends to bring several Korean juniors over to the U.S. to compete in his event in the near future so they too will have the opportunity to widen their perspective of the game. “Due to Covid, it was hard to arrange for it this year. Hopefully I can have this event for as long as possible, 10 years, 15 years, who knows,” said An, who conducted a clinic with the participants during the event as part of his involvement. “I obviously want to see them play well when they turn pro and see them on the tour but just giving them the playing opportunity in my event, I think that means a lot to me as well, and hopefully for them too. They may not know it now but by competing, it helps in the long term and hopefully they become better golfers and better people.”
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