When you think of Brazilians, you think of soccer.  When you think of Koreans, you think of golf.  Once again, for the second year in a row, a Korean has won one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the United States.  Byeong-Hun An dismantled Ben Martin in the finals of the U.S. Amateur on Sunday to become the youngest winner of this tournament, taking home the Havemeyer Trophy.  How prestigious is the U.S. Amateur?  Tiger Woods is a three time winner.  Jack Nicklause, Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson are previous winners of this tournament.   Jack Nicklaus, the greatest golfer of all time considers the U.S. Amateur as a major championship.  Last year Danny Lee, another Korean, became the youngest winner of the tournament; Tiger Woods was the previous youngest winner.  Now for the second time in two years, Byeong-Hun An officially becomes the youngest (17 years old) winner of the U.S. Amateur and this win punches his ticket to next year’s Master’s tournament, the U.S. Open, and the British Open; three of the four golf major championships.

An is the son of two Olympians.  Both parents won medals in table tennis at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, so he’s got championship DNA in him.  An moved to the U.S. 3 1/2 years ago and his biggest struggle wasn’t his golf game, but English.  He now trains down in Florida at the IMG Academy.  When asked in the post-tournament interview if Y.E. Yang’s win over Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship was any motivation, An said “After he won the PGA Championship…. for all of us Koreans and Asians, it made it possible for us to win.”

An’s win made it the 12th Korean to win a U.S.G.A championship. Coincidentally, M.J. Hur, a Korean LPGA golfer, won the Safeway Classic golf tournament today at Pumpkin Ridge. When you think golf, you there are two things you should think of… Tiger Woods and Koreans! Fighting!