Byeong Hun An claimed a first-hole playoff victory over fellow PGA Tour golfer Tom Kim at the DP World Tour's Genesis Championship in South Korea.
It was An's second career DP World Tour crown and his first triumph on any tour since landing the LECOM Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022, but it was far from plain sailing for the Korean.
Six different golfers topped the leaderboard either on their own or in a share at some point on Sunday, with both An and Kim fighting to keep their respective noses in front.
Stood on the 17th tee all square on 17-under, An ended up lipping out for bogey to hand his fellow countryman the chance to end it in regulation. But on the 72nd green, An drained a clutch eight-foot putt for birdie while Kim watched his par effort stay above ground via the rim of the cup.
Back to the par-5 18th in the playoff, Kim ripped a perfect drive down the centre as An - who held a significant advantage in terms of length - prayed to the golfing gods for help after watching his own tee shot sail dangerously close to the hazard down the right side of the fairway.
The script was flipped quickly thereafter though as Kim struck his approach into the long grass just outside of the front green-side bunker while An made the most of a decent lie just into the rough by landing his ball a few yards off the right side of the green.
Facing a nightmare shot with his feet in the bunker and ball at something like knee height, Kim bladed his attempted chip over the green and ultimately failed to get down for par. While An's chip on left him a little more to do than he might have liked, the 33-year-old rolled his birdie putt home to secure his first victory on the DP World Tour since lifting the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.
Speaking immediately after holing the winning putt and celebrating with family, An said: "It's great, I've had a great season obviously, it's been too long (to win) on the main Tour. All I tried to do is show some great golf in front of the home fans, it's been a while since I've played in front of them.
"It feels amazing, it's a bit of a shame that Tom had a bit of mess there, but it's been a great tournament for me, I've really enjoyed it. There has been a lot of fans out there supporting me and Tom, and I feel like we had a great battle today. I just got a little bit lucky to be a winner out there today, I think.
"It's a sweet ending for this year, it's been a great year. This feels amazing, I'm going enjoy it for a while, then I've got to get back on it."
Celebrating victory with Grandma and family 🥹#GenesisChampionship pic.twitter.com/kU72oSYomZOctober 27, 2024
Meanwhile, Portuguese golfer Ricardo Gouveia finished solo third on 16-under to secure his full playing rights for next season after beginning the week well outside of the top-115, in 154th. It was Gouveia's first top-20 all year and arrived on his final chance before the DP World Tour playoffs begin in the Middle East.
Antoine Rozner was one shot further back, Italian Guido Migliozzi carded the lowest final round of the day with a flawless 65 to sit at 14-under, while Francesco Laporta, first-round leader Ivan Cantero and South African Casey Jarvis were two more adrift.
