MEMPHIS – Abraham Ancer has spent much of the past three years trying to get over the hump.
After joining the PGA Tour in 2018, the 30-year-old entered the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational with four runner-up finishes.
On Sunday, however, Ancer finally had his breakthrough moment.
On the second hole of a three-man playoff at sizzling TPC Southwind, he sank a 6-foot birdie putt to claim his first victory on Tour. In the 121st start of his PGA Tour career, he bested Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns, who both narrowly missed birdie putts that would’ve sent the playoff to a third hole.
“You never know; golf is crazy,” Ancer said. “It’s surreal. something that I’ve been working for since I was a little kid. Definitely a dream, a dream come true to win on the PGA Tour, and to do it on a big stage like a WGC event was really, really cool, man. It was a crazy round. I thought I was going to need a really low one to have a chance today, but it just worked out that it was like pretty much survival mode on the back nine.
“I had obviously some close calls this year and the previous seasons. I didn’t want to think of like, oh, my God, I’m so due, I didn’t want to put extra pressure. I’ve done enough in other events to win and it just didn’t go my way. So I just stayed patient, I didn’t change anything.
“I just try to get better at how I play golf and keep my head cool.”
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His victory came in the wake of a sudden and dramatic collapse from Harris English, who made the turn of the final round with a three-stroke lead.
Cool, calm and seemingly unflappable since storming out of the gate in Thursday’s first round with a 62 that included seven birdies on the first nine holes, English was poised for a wire-to-wire win and set to become the first on the PGA Tour this season with three victories.
Then, disaster struck. Two double bogeys in a four-hole span and a bogey two holes after that, English’s breakdown helped pave the way for the playoff.
The putt that gave @Abraham_Ancer his first TOUR victory. 🎉 pic.twitter.com/fuPgaBzOaU
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 8, 2021
Ancer, Burns and Matsuyama each finished at 16-under 264 – one stroke ahead of English, who won the FedEx St. Jude Classic in 2013.
English was paired with Bryson DeChambeau on Sunday. He said they were warned by officials that they were taking too much time on the front nine, which forced him out of his usual rhythm.
“You definitely start the day in one rhythm and then you kind of get out of that having to walk faster, having to do everything a little faster because you don’t want to get a bad time,” English said. “It was tough, the wind was swirling obviously coming down the stretch, there was some very important shots in there and it was tough. But I’ve got to learn to slow down, go through my routine and not really worry about being put on the clock.”
Ancer’s round ended only minutes before the playoff began, while Burns and Matsuyama had to stick around for more than an hour after they finished their rounds. Burns and Matsuyama put themselves in the improbable position to get back on the course with stellar Sundays. Burns came into the final round tied for 11th, eight strokes off the lead. Matsuyama was tied for 14th at 9-under, and Ancer began the day in fourth – four strokes behind English – and shot 2-under 68 in the final round.
Burns overcame a double bogey, carding a six on No. 13, by registering eight birdies for a 64, tied for the second-best score of the day.
Matsuyama did him one better in regulation, with a bogey-free round (his first of the tournament) that was highlighted by seven birdies. The only birdie putt longer than 11 feet was a 23-footer on No. 14, which saw just eight birdies on Sunday.
The highlight of Ancer’s Sunday before the playoff was an almost 12-foot putt for birdie on No. 3. It was one of just three birdies he made, to go along with one bogey.
The first run on No. 18 in the playoff saw all three par the hole. Matsuyama’s 26-foot try for birdie lipped off the cup, leaving him with a 1-footer for par. The second time through the 18th, Matsuyama missed a 20-foot birdie attempt. It was followed by Ancer’s make and Burns’ miss from 8 feet that also lipped out, giving Ancer the win.
“It’s tough to lose in a playoff, but I didn’t I wasn’t able to hit the fairway with either tee shot, but I did my best,” Matsuyama said. “I want to congratulate Abraham, he played great all week.”
But it was Ancer’s approach shot on the second playoff hole that turned out to be the turning point. From the intermediate rough just to the right of the fairway, he set himself up for a 6-foot putt with a 148-yard dagger.
“I told (caddie) Benjie (Thompson) on my second shot here, ‘Hey, we need to go get this,’” he said. “’I’m gonna pretty much go right at her – just a little right so it just kind of funnels in.’ The shot played perfectly in my mind and it came out exactly how I pictured it.
“I thought I left so many shots out there on the back 9, but you never know. There will be sometimes where I felt like I made enough birdies to win and I don’t win. So, it’s just kind of how it goes. I’m happy I got lucky.”
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