Liverpool, England: Korean An Byeong-hun upstaged his better known rivals from Japan and Thailand to claim the distinction of finishing as the leading Asian at the 143rd Open Championship.
The son of table tennis medallists at the 1988 Olympic Games, the 22-year-old signed for a final-round of even-par 72 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
That gave him a four-day total of four-under 284 and a share of 26th place – 13 shots behind the triumphant Rory McIlroy.
To An’s delight, however, he ended three strokes clear of the three other Asians who made the half-way cut – Thai Thongchai Jaidee and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Koumei Oda.
The youngest ever winner of the US Amateur, aged 17 in 2009, it was An’s second Open appearance having missed the cut at St Andrews in 2010.
He secured his place at Hoylake by placing second in the Final Qualifying event at Sunningdale New.
After three consecutive 72s, Thongchai finally put up some red numbers on the board with a closing 71.
The triple Asian Tour number one birdied the 18th to end his campaign at the year’s third Major championship on a high note.
“Played solid, holed a lot of short putts. I had a good round,” smiled Thongchai. “I made a couple of long ones and had one chip-in birdie on 15. I probably played the best round of the week.”
With huge crowds at Royal Liverpool, Thongchai said no other event in the world offered the electrifying atmosphere around the 18th.
“It was amazing walking up the 18th. With good weather like this, you can see the crowds are here in numbers. Even when I walked up to the first hole, it was massive. Unbelievable really,” he said.