Mexico’s Abraham Ancer first landed on the PGA Tour radar with great finishes in several FedExCup events. When he finished solo runner-up to Patrick Reed in the 2019 The Northern Trust at Liberty National, his first career victory looked imminent.
Ancer had two more runner-up finishes in 2020, in addition to a T4, and in the current season he had posted six top-10s, including a solo runner-up at the Wells Fargo Championship, going into the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, his most recent start.
There, in Memphis, Ancer finally snagged his first career win, overcoming Harris English in the final round and ousting red-hot Sam Burns and reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama on the second playoff hole. The win was even more impressive when it is noted that Ancer had been representing Mexico in the Tokyo Olympics the week prior.
Ancer called the win a dream come true.
“It was a Sunday that was — that I dreamt of since I was a little kid,” said Ancer. “Obviously, it was an incredible experience to get the W on a big event like WGC like that in Memphis, a golf course that I love, and I told my caddie when we get there, I was like, man, I really, really like this golf course.
“So it all worked out. It was a crazy, crazy Sunday. Crazy back nine more on Sunday.
“Yeah, the ten days after that was — they were great. Got to see my family, got to celebrate. There was a lot of celebration during the week, you have no idea. But can’t do that before, so all my buddies came up and celebrated.”
He added, “There was not any golf played or practiced, so today and tomorrow are going to be key for me to take the rust off.
“But I hit some balls today. I feel great. I feel refreshed. Ready to get to work and to get the playoffs going.”
Now the question becomes, will the floodgates open? The 30-year-old has shown tremendous potential between his FedExCup playoff success and the 2019 Presidents Cup, where he starred for the International Squad.
Ancer is not a long hitter, but he is precise, currently ranking 7th on Tour in driving accuracy and 26th in greens in regulation. He is also an above average putter and currently leads the Tour in scrambling from the rough.
