South Korean PGA Tour player An Byeong-hun speaks to South Korean media in a video conference from Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Jan. 8, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — With a win and a runner-up finish between them over the past two seasons at the Sony Open in Hawaii on the PGA Tour, South Korean veterans An Byeong-hun and Kim Si-woo said Wednesday they will try to build on their fond memories of the tournament this week.
Both will tee off at the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu starting Thursday. It will be their second tournament of the 2025 season, following The Sentry, also in Hawaii, last week.
An lost in the playoff to Grayson Murray at last year’s Sony Open, falling just shy of his first PGA Tour title. Kim, a four-time PGA Tour champion, won the event in 2023.
“This is my third time playing at the Sony Open, and I’ve been coming here with my family every season. We always have a great time here,” An said in a video conference with South Korean media. “Of course, it was nice to play well last year, but I just enjoy having my family with me. I’d love to play a bit better than last year.”
An, 33, is still looking for his first PGA Tour win. But he ended the 2024 season on a high note by winning the Genesis Championship on the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) in South Korea in October.
“I had such a great season last year. I accomplished all the goals I had set for myself, and it was really gratifying to win my last tournament of the year,” said An, who had five top-10 finishes in 22 PGA Tour starts in 2024. “But this is a new season, and I am looking forward to a fresh start. I will try to put last season behind me. Obviously, I am feeling confident coming into the new year, but I still have to work hard because this is a brand new season.”
An, who finished third in the average driving distance with 317.1 yards last season, said he finds it increasingly difficult to keep up with other bombers as he gets older. He added he didn’t pay extra attention to any particular area of his game during his offseason training, instead choosing to work on every shot in the bag.
“I want to get my PGA Tour win this season and finish in the top five at a major championship,” said An, who has yet to have a top-10 showing at a major in 31 appearances so far. “I’d love to play well at the Masters in particular. I hit the ball so well last year, and if I had putted a bit better, I would have finished in the top 10.”
Kim, 29, also said he’d love to do well at majors and end his title drought. That 2023 Sony Open win is Kim’s most recent PGA Tour victory.
“I’d love to win multiple times this year, but I know things don’t always go the way I want,” Kim said. “So I think it’s important to get the first win out of the way early. And then hopefully, I will be able to get to win No. 2 and No. 3 for the season. Of course, it won’t be easy, but picking up that first win will be really important.”
To that end, Kim said he tried to increase his swing speed over the winter. He is not the long hitter that An is. Last season, Kim ranked 145th in the average driving distance with 294.8 yards, and he was 127th in club head speed with 114.34 miles per hour.
“Everyone is hitting it miles now, and there are so many guys with great swing speeds,” said Kim, whose game is built on accuracy off the tee and solid touch around the green. “I think I had pretty good speed numbers last week, considering it was the first tournament of the year. I still have some work to do, but I think I am off to a good start in that regard.”
Kim won the 2023 Sony Open only weeks after getting married to former Korea LPGA Tour star Oh Ji-hyun. He is now back with the couple’s first child in tow.
“This will be my first time playing at this tournament with my son, and I hope I can play well in front of him,” Kim said. “I have some good memories of this course. And even if things don’t go well early, I will try to stay positive just like I did two years ago.”
(Yonhap)
