Korean golf star Byeong Hun An has mastered several new skills over the past few months, from playing home daddy to producing his own YouTube channel. By next week, he hopes the skills that matter most will show up again when the PGA TOUR returns to action at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
âI canât wait to get back out,â said An, who is currently ranked 23rd on the FedExCup points list. âAfter a three-month break, I just want to get back at it, thatâs what Iâm looking forward to the most.â
While his diaper changing ability has significantly improved following the arrival of his first-born son, Sunwoo Stanley, in February, the former U.S. Amateur champion estimates his golf game is currently between 70 percent to 80 percent.
An has been able to practice at Lake Nona in Orlando for much of the lockdown due to COVID-19 and he will not be surprised if some initial rust creeps into his game when he returns into competition mode.
âThe nerves on the first hole ⌠thatâs always the hardest. I guess our short game will be affected from the lack of competition. It will take a few days. Youâll see some rust but once we get into the events, itâll come. The first event is probably the warm-up to get going. Iâm actually hitting it okay right now,â said An, who called on coach David Leadbetter for a practice session two weeks ago to sharpen his game ahead of resumption.
An was on a roll before the season came to a temporary halt. Through 13 starts since last fall, he notched five top-10s, with a season-best finish of third place at the Sanderson Farms Championship. An also tied for fourth at The Honda Classic in March, where he watched close friend and fellow Presidents Cup member Sungjae Im secure his maiden PGA TOUR win.
âI donât need the motivation,â An said. âIâve played long enough and I want to win as anyone else on TOUR. Sungjae is a countryman and everyone knew heâs a great player and he was going to win. I want to see more Koreans winning on TOUR which is nice and I hope it would be me next. Itâs hard to win out here.â said An, who has three career runner-up finishes on the PGA TOUR.
âThis has been a good year with a few top-10s,â he added. âI want to keep it going and play in the FedExCup and get into (my first) TOUR Championship, which is my goal. Thatâs why I played in a few events at the start of the season and the benefits that come with getting into TOUR Championship is great, so thatâs the goal. As to winning, it is the ultimate. Winning will be a dream.â
An has kept himself occupied during golfâs shutdown. With the arrival of his baby boy, the break has proven to be a blessing in disguise as it allowed him to spend quality family time with wife Jamie and their newborn.
An also launched his own YouTube channel, aptly titled ANmazing Golf, where he has produced mainly instructional pieces almost entirely on his own. He now has more than 8,500 subscribers and the highest single video views stands at more than 113,000 views. Since mid-March, he has produced 28 videos for his channel.
âI watched a lot of YouTube videos before the pandemic. And since we didnât have any tournaments to play, I wanted to keep interacting with my fans and create my own channel,â he said. âItâs mainly sharing golf tips and clinics as the golf course was open or I could film in my backyard. I think my fans have loved it but when the season resumes, I probably wonât be able to post as frequently Itâs been fun. Iâve learned to edit the videos myself ⌠I do all the effects, subtitles and editing and Iâm glad many people are enjoying the videos.â
Anâs internet success, coupled with an abundance of family time, has helped him make the most of his time off the course.
âThe best thing that has happened is spending all these time with my son and wife. We had our baby a month before all this happened, so we got lucky in a sense and I got to see how he grew up and I saw every moment,â he said. âHe changes like every two days. You see changes in how he reacts, how he giggles, how he smiles when he wakes up. His clothes are getting smaller which shows heâs growing. Itâs pretty cool to experience this. If Iâm travelling I wonât see this development. Iâm having a good time even though Iâm not playing tournaments.â
