Tuesday 26 May 2015 11:59, UK
Five talking points from a successful BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, where a star was born after another made an early exit.
Record attendance
The 2015 edition of the European Tour's flagship event was notable for a number of records. Despite the absence of the likes of Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter, not to mention Rory McIlroy's early exit, the tournament attracted a record aggregate crowd of 113,640 over the four tournament days.
Many had predicted a big drop-off over the weekend after McIlroy missed the cut, but Saturday's figure of 24,666 was over 5,000 up on last year - when the world No 1 was still in action.
This is great news for the tournament going forward, and proves that Wentworth is still one of the biggest draws of the season whoever is in contention.
Records galore
As well as the superb numbers through the gates, new benchmarks were set on the course throughout the week.
The most significant in terms of entertainment was the record five holes-in-one - three at the second hole, one at the 10th and Chris Wood's final-day ace at the 14th which earned him a £100,000 BMW i8.
Craig Lee, Trevor Fisher Jnr and Miguel Angel Jimenez didn't get a bean for making ones at the second, but Jimenez's third ace of the season made him the most prolific hole-in-one achiever in the history of the European Tour with 10 - one more than Colin Montgomerie.
Byeong Hun An became the first Asian player to win the coveted trophy, and his winning score of 21 under par was also a new tournament best.
And Tommy Fleetwood set a bizarre par-five record on day three, completing a "perfect set" of an albatross, eagle, birdie and par on the long holes - the first man to do so in a single round on the West Course.
McIlroy needs a break
Rory McIlroy arrived for his fourth tournament in succession, but it was clear from Wednesday's pro-am that he was mentally exhausted. The schedule was unkind to him, particularly the new date on the calendar for the WGC-Cadillac Match Play.
He played more holes than anybody on his way to the title that week, looked jaded at Sawgrass the week after but still managed a tie for eighth, and he then blew away the field at Quail Hollow. McIlroy flew straight from Charlotte to London and was obliged to fulfill several media and sponsors commitments, leaving him with little recovery time.
It was perhaps not a major surprise that the defending champion missed the cut for the third time in four years, but he took he with good grace and vowed to be refreshed and ready for a big week ahead as tournament host at the Irish Open.
Ageless Jimenez
Richard Boxall remarked on Saturday morning that, one day, Miguel Angel Jimenez would start playing like a proper 51-year-old. A couple of hours later, the Spaniard was celebrating a European Tour-record 10th hole-in-one at the second.
It was his third ace of the season, while he has also holed out from the fairway twice and true golf fans never tire of watching the now-familiar "Jimenez jig".
The veteran's ninth ace came at his home Open last week, and he went on to finish second behind James Morrison. And it was the same story this week - make an ace, finish second.
While most pros his age are trying to establish themselves on one of the senior circuits, Jimenez continues to mix-it up with the young stars on the European Tour. Long may it continue.
Fulfilling promise
We've lost count of the number of promising amateur stars who have failed to make the grade at professional level, but that is clearly not going to be the case with BMW PGA champion Byeong Hun An.
He won the US Amateur title in 2009 aged only 17, and he had already made an impressive start to his rookie season on the European Tour this year since graduating from the Challenge Tour.
An is the first Asian player to win at Wentworth, and the first to win on their debut in the tournament since Scott Drummond's unlikely victory 11 years ago, but it was the manner of his win that impressed as much as the victory itself.
For two days running, the level-headed 23-year-old not only stood up to the pressure of playing in the final group in one of the biggest tournaments of the year, he relished it. To shoot 67-65 over the weekend, and to not drop a shot on the final day, is one of the best performances ever witnessed at the historic Surrey venue.
This young man has a bright future ahead, and we'll be very surprised if we don't see him winning a major or two before long.
