PGA Tour veteran An Byeong-hun joins LIV Golf as captain of Korean team
From left, Korean-born golfers Kim Min-kyu, Song Young-han, An Byeong-hun and Danny Lee pose together in this photo provided by LIV Golf on Thursday. Yonhap
An Byeong-hun has left the PGA Tour to captain a rebranded LIV Golf team featuring three other Korean-born players.
LIV Golf announced Wednesday (U.S. local time) that An will join Korean Golf Club as its captain for the upcoming season.
An, 34, will be joined by two other new faces in Song Young-han, a two-time winner in Japan, and Kim Min-kyu, who has won three tournaments on the Korea PGA (KPGA) Tour. The lone returnee for Korean Golf Club will be Danny Lee, a Korean-born Kiwi.
Song and Kim each made a cameo in LIV Golf last year as a temporary injury replacement, while An had been on the PGA Tour since first earning his tour card for the 2016-2017 season.
An replaces Korean American veteran Kevin Na as captain of the team, which had been called Iron Heads Golf Club until its rebranding Monday. Na left LIV Golf amid speculation of discontent after unfollowing both LIV Golf and his own team on social media.
The son of Olympic table tennis medalists Ahn Jae-hyung and Jiao Zhimin, An holds the record as the youngest winner of the prestigious U.S. Amateur, having captured the title at 17 in 2009. He turned pro two years later and then became the first Asian winner of the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour (currently DP World Tour) in 2015. He earned that tour's Rookie of the Year honor that same season.
An has earned over $21 million over his PGA Tour career, the most by an active player without a victory.
Internationally, An competed at the Presidents Cup in 2019 and 2024 and represented Korea at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics.
"Joining LIV Golf is a defining move for my future," said An, who goes by the English name Ben stateside. "LIV Golf is becoming a leading force in the game and a truly global golf league with a clear vision for the future; I see a great opportunity to grow my career as captain of Korean Golf Club: to compete at the highest level, embrace a dynamic team environment and help shape this new era of the sport."
LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil said An's arrival highlights the breakaway tour's "long-term commitment to and deep belief in the Korean market and the important role it plays in shaping the future of global golf."
"Ben represents a generation of elite athletes who value expanding the game's reach, competing at the highest level on an international stage, and carrying the responsibility of representing their country with pride," O'Neil said.
"That perspective aligns powerfully with our belief that golf's next era will be defined by diversity, ambition, and a rising standard of elite global competition. Korea has established itself as one of the sport's most passionate markets, capable of producing a pipeline of world-class talent. Ben personifies the pride, discipline, and competitive excellence that have shaped that reputation."
LIV Golf, financed by Saudi Arabia, has lured high-end talent from the PGA Tour since its launch in 2022. It tracks both individual player standings and team standings, with each team made up of a captain and three other members.
Last year, Iron Heads finished last among 13 teams, with Jang Yu-bin, the 2024 KPGA Tour Player of the Year, struggling mightily as the first Korean national to play in LIV Golf. Jang was pushed out of LIV Golf after finishing in 53rd place in the player standings, with only the top 48 retaining their spots for the following season.
LIV Golf held its first tournament in Korea in May 2025 at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, just west of Seoul. Earlier reports indicated that LIV will return to Korea for May 29-31 in 2026, but the tour's official website did not have a Korean stop or any other tournament in that late May window as of this writing.