
Yasumoto shared a touching moment with his grandmother at the Genesis Championship.
@DPWorldTour
Ben An has achieved greater success in his career than the one he achieved this weekend at the Genesis Championship in his native South Korea.
But does he have something more meaningful to do? It's hard to say.
Ahn strode down the 18th fairway at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in South Korea, heading into a playoff victory over compatriot Tom Kim. Beside the 18th green stood someone who had never seen Ann claim victory of any kind: his grandmother.
Ann walked onto the green, stared at a 6-foot ball, made the game-winning birdie, and sucked it up. As the customary caddy hug went on, he took a deep breath, looked to the sky, and then stared at the 18th green, where his family stood waiting.
When Ann reached them, tears welled up in her eyes. First there is his wife Jamie, then his parents, and finally his grandmother, who has gray hair and glasses.
As Ann hugged Grandma, the tears really started to flow, big ones running down his cheekbones. For Ann, it was the rarest moment of vindication – the chance to celebrate it in front of most of her loved ones.
“I mean, yeah, I'm still emotional about it,” An said in a post-race interview with DP World Tour, wiping tears from her eyes. “I didn’t expect to be so excited after I won.”
He explained that the reason for the tears was his grandmother. Although she spent many of the formative years of his golf career with Ann, she had never seen him lift a trophy before. Years of golf and many of the successes my grandmother watched from the sidelines.
“I saw my mother, I saw my grandma. Yes, my grandma has lived with me in the United States for 10 or 12 years, and she is my biggest supporter.” An said. “This is actually the first time she's ever seen me lift a trophy in person. My parents have seen me win tournaments, my wife has seen me win on the Korn Ferry Tour, but my grandma has never really Seeing that I’ve won races, it’s very exciting.”
You can watch the full interview of Ann's touching interaction and his subsequent interview on DP World Tour's social channels.