Abraham Ancer produced a final-round 68 to claim a wire-to-wire victory at the PIF Saudi International.
The 31-year-old Mexican posted rounds of 63, 66 and 64 ahead of Sunday’s finale at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. The 2-under 68 gave Ancer a 19-under par total, two clear of Cameron Young, who also posted a final-day 68 to sit -17.
“That was my first ever wire-to-wire win,” said Ancer, who last won in 2021 at the FedEx St. Jude’s Championship in Memphis.
“I just didn’t think about where I was on the leaderboard. I just felt like I just want to do that again. I played really good the first round, and I just felt like I wanted to keep that going.
“I kept telling myself, just imagine if I was in like 20th place and just got to go out there and shoot a low one. It worked out. I stayed in the moment. Didn’t really think too much about the previous shots or what was coming after. So, I’m really happy with my frame of mind during these four rounds.”
The Mexican, who turned professional a decade ago, earned a first-place check worth $1 million (USD).
The runner-up result means Young has now recorded eight top-three finishes since last year, highlighted by a second-place finish at The Open, and a joint third in the PGA Championship.
“It’s disappointing but I think I played pretty well, and I’m playing a bunch the next few weeks. So, I think I’m in a nice place moving forward,” said Young.
“He [Ancer] played some really nice golf. He just didn’t make really any mistakes. I think he maybe made two bogeys this whole week, and with the wind blowing as hard as it was, that’s, one, tremendous control of your golf ball, and two, I think just a lot of mental toughness.
“I’m proud of all those finishes. There’s nothing I’ve thrown away, I don’t think. If one or two of them was a four-shot lead that I didn’t finish off, that’s a bummer, but I’ve been beat a lot. I haven’t thrown any of them away.”
Australian Lucas Herbert carded a 65 to finish third, two shots further back, while Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana cemented his position as one of the Asian Tour’s most exciting young players when he fired a 66 to secure solo fourth on 14-under.
Sadom stormed through the front nine going out in five under to try and catch Ancer and Young.
“I started pretty good, I made two birdies on the first and second hole and I tried to keep the momentum to play well today,” said Sadom. “I played well on the front nine and on the back nine I think I hit my irons pretty good but couldn’t read the greens.
“I think pushed a bit more harder than yesterday because I didn’t play in the final group, I played in the second last, so I tried to hit more to the pin and today I hit pretty good irons.
“I thought I can do my best on the back nine but my putter was not good enough. I’m very happy today. Very happy it’s the first event for me for this year, and I will try to keep this momentum for the whole year.”
Paul Casey rounded out the top-five finishers in Saudi Arabia. The Englishman shot a final-round 65 to sit fifth on 13 under.
Final Top 10: PIF Saudi International
Pos-Player-To Par (Final Rd)
1. Abraham Ancer -19 (-2)
2. Cameron Young -17 (-2)
3. Lucas Herbert -15 (-5)
4. Sadom Kaewkanjana -14 (-2)
5. Paul Casey -13 (-5)
6. Travis Smyth -12 (-5)
6. Marc Leishman -12 (-4)
6. Mito Pereira -12 (-4)
9. Andy Ogletree -11 (-7)
10. Joaquin Niemann -10 (-5)
10. Matthew Wolff -10 (E)
Press release from the Asian Tour was used to compile this report.
