Golfer An seeks Olympic medal like his father

An Byeong-hun looks on from the 16th hole during the first round of the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., on July 28. / AFP-Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

It is not that hard to come across an inspiring story of father and son both standing as sports stars. You can name many fathers and sons in sports -- Dell and Stephen Curry in basketball; Bobby and Barry Bonds in baseball; and footballers Cha Bum-keun and Du-ri to name a Korean duo.

Though these father and son stories have become all too familiar to the fans, being the offspring of an accomplished father requires something more than it seems, with the son being forced to fight the pressure of comparison with his father.

So it is for An Jae-hyung and Byeong-hun, a father and son making steps into the upcoming Rio Olympics. Father Jae-hyung will coach Korean table tennis players, while son Byeong-hun will play golf as the sport returns to the Olympics after a 112-year absence.

Though their sports are different, the Summer Games are putting pressure on the son, whose parents were Olympic medalists in table tennis at the 1988 Seoul Games. Jae-hyung clinched a bronze medal in men’s doubles and his wife Jiao Zhimin bagged a silver and a bronze in women’s singles and doubles, respectively.

The younger An dreams of a greater feat at the Olympics, saying “My parents won a silver and a two bronze medals at the Olympics. I’ll chase a gold at the Rio Games.”

Hard times for prodigy

Byeong-hun picked up golf clubs instead of paddles at the age of seven when he accompanied his father when he practiced golf. Recognizing the son’s talent in the sport, father An decided to take him to the U.S. in 2005 to let him learn more about golf.

“We wanted Byeong-hun to stick with one sport, and he just wasn’t good at ball games like football. But he liked golf and he is good at it,” Jae-hyung said in a 2015 interview.

The decision seemed to be brilliant in 2009 when Byeong-hun made headlines by becoming the youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship at the age of 17 years and 11 months. He was younger than the previous record holder Danny Lee (18 years and 1 month) and golf legend Tiger Woods (18 years and 7 months).

However, the glory did not last longer than two years. Instead of taking courses at the University of California Berkeley, he opted to turn professional in 2011, but failed to earn a PGA Membership and managed to find a spot on the European Challenge Tour in 2012.

However, he wasn’t successful there either. It took him almost a year to score a second place spot in a tournament and another year to win one. It seemed that Byeong-hun’s career was going in the opposite direction of his parents who were representing their countries from their early years.

It was a hard time for the An family. To help with his son’s career, Jae-hyung resigned as director of Korean Air’s table tennis team in 2007 and became his son’s caddie.

During those days, the Ans played as many events as possible, which Jae-hyung recalls as “reckless.” “However, those days taught us a lot and helped Byeong-hun so that he plays well these days,” father An said in an interview with a local newspaper.

It took three years for the son to regain his fame, when he became the first Asian to win the BMW PGA Championship after firing an aggregate 21-under 267 in 2015.

Picking up momentum, Byeong-hun finished seventh on the European Tour’s money list last year. The feat helped him stand at 31st on the World Golf Ranking as of July 11 this year, which is 10th highest among those qualified at the Rio Games.

Fighting the pressure

After grabbing a chance to stand equal with his father, Byeong-hun’s remaining task is fighting the pressure coming from the hopes put on him.

So far, the bid does not seem successful as his final test before play in Rio ended in disappointment. At the PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey, An made six bogeys against four birdies in the second round to post 72 at the par-70 course. Piling up a four-over 144, An missed the cut by two strokes.

His Olympic teammate Wang Jeung-hun also failed to make the cut after shooting an eight-over 148. Their coach Choi Kyung-joo, better known as K.J. Choi, finished the fourth round at a four-under 276 tied at 22nd place.

Byeong-hun said he does not talk about the Olympics with his father because he feels it would just add to the pressure. Luckily for him, they will not have many chances to meet during the Olympics. The table tennis team moved into the athletes’ village on July 30 and the golfers will arrive at the village three to four days before the golf tournament starts on Aug. 11.