A week ahead of his second appearance at the Presidents Cup, PGA Tour veteran An Byeong-hun said Thursday he is looking forward to joining forces with Korean teammates in a bid for a rare win over the United States.
An will be one of four Korean players for the 12-man International Team, made up of non-European and non-American players, as they take on the mighty U.S. Team at the biennial match-play competition. This year’s Presidents Cup tees off at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Canada, next Thursday.
The Americans have won 12 of the 14 Presidents Cups so far, with the International Team picking up their only victory in 1998 and the two sides ending up in a tie in 2003.
An, who made his Presidents Cup debut in 2019, said his team will have “a big opportunity” to pull out a win this year.
“We have not done well, but at the last few competitions, we came really close,” An said in an interview transcript provided by the PGA Tour. He was referring to the 2015 competition held in Korea, where the U.S. won by one point, and the 2019 event in Melbourne, where the U.S. pulled out a 16-14 win.
“There were times when we had played well going into Sunday’s singles and lost on the final day,” An added. “We have players who can thrive in fourball and foursome formats. We will try to do well in the singles too. I think we have a big opportunity.”
An will be playing alongside Im Sung-jae, Kim Si-woo and Tom Kim, whose Korean birth name is Joo-hyung. All three played on the 2022 team that lost 17 1/2-12 1/2. Kim Si-woo led the International Team with three points, but it was Tom Kim who turned heads with some clutch putts and exuberant celebrations that followed.
“He’s a tremendous player. He brings a lot of energy and has a huge influence on this team,” An said of the 22-year-old. “He just has a different energy level than I do. He played great golf in 2022, and I am looking forward to more of the same from him.”
As for having four Koreans on the team for the second consecutive Presidents Cup, An said: “We have a lot of talented players from Korea. Hopefully, we will be picking up a lot of points together.”
Former Masters champion Mike Weir is the captain for the International Team, and An said the team is in good hands with the Canadian hero trying to deliver a victory in front of home fans.
“I am sure he’s going to put together good pairings that can score a lot of points,” An said. “He has been great at communicating with us. He made time to get to know us and build relationships. I hope he will lead us to victory.” (Yonhap)
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