By Cho Jae-hyon
Staff Reporter
An Byeong-hun, the youngest player to win the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship, apparently has the talent to skillfully handle a small ball in his DNA. His parents were Olympic medalists in table tennis. Their son now wants to become the world's best with a golf ball.
An is the only son of An Jae-hyung, 44, and China's Jiao Zhimin, 46, the famous ``ping pong couple'' who won medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and tied the knot the same year.
An, who turns 18 on Sept. 17, became the youngest champion in the event's history, beating the record set by Korean New Zealander Danny Lee who won last year at the age of 18 years and one month.
The family reunited Tuesday for the first time in about three months as An and his father, who caddies for his son, returned home to participate in the Korea Open Golf Championship that started Thursday.
They all said his win means a new start.
``My heart flutters with the thinking that I earned seeding for the U.S. Open, British Open and other major championships,'' An said in an interview with the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times. ``I would like to win a major like Yang Yong-eun in the future.''
An's father said he didn't expect his son to win the title. ``His win still looks unreal as he did the unexpected.''
His wife, who runs a business in China, said she feels sorry for her son as she has not been able to support him because of the business. ``My husband has taken the role of mom so far.''
Asked why he let his son play golf instead of table tennis, the elder An said the boy took up golf after he took him to a golf range accidently.
``Initially he did not show much talent in sports. I think he seems to have grown with persistent efforts,'' he said. ``Still, it seems he inherited from us the persistence and the tenacious craving for winning. I believe he will become a world-class golfer if he continues to make the efforts.''
An said he has played golf for about 10 years and has an average 90. He will also caddie for his son at the Korea Open, where his wife will join them in the galleries.
An won the bronze medal in the men's doubles at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, while Jiao claimed a silver for China in women's doubles and a bronze in singles.
He sent his son to Bradenton, Florida, for golf training in 2005 and eventually quit as coach of Korean Air's pro table tennis team to give his full support as a caddie and manager.