Abraham Ancer (-13) lives up to the forecasts and lifts the individual trophy at the LIV Golf in Hong Kong. The Mexican takes the first title of his career on the Saudi circuit and the fifth as a professional, a year after his last victory at the PIF Saudi International. Jon Rahm (-10) adds his fourth consecutive top 10 of the season.
Anyone reading the above paragraph may think that Ancer’s victory has been comfortable and calm. Far from it. Tense, agonising, long and very hard-fought. This is how we can define Abraham Ancer’s day in the last round of the tournament. Euphoria is the feeling that usually accompanies a victory, relief is probably the word that best describes the Mexican’s feeling after sinking the birdie on the first playoff hole that certified the victory over Cameron Smith (-13) and Paul Casey (-13). Because yes, Ancer had to go to the playoff on a day when he started with six and eight strokes advantage over the Australian and the Englishman.
Winning in golf is never easy, says one of the great clichés of this sport. Today Abraham Ancer has suffered it in his own flesh. Yesterday the victory seemed almost a fact and let’s not fool ourselves, ‘the Turk’ has had a terrible time. The excellent golf of the last two days has stayed in the bag today. He seemed to be playing not to lose and he was about to do so.
Abraham Ancer opened the door to his rivals and Abraham Ancer never quite closed it. He started the day with a five-stroke lead over Chacarra and with the feeling that he was untouchable this week at Hong Kong Golf Club. Bad start, tense second shot, good recovery and par saved. We can say that this was Ancer’s tone during the first fourteen holes. The bunker has been a regular companion and on five occasions he ended up playing from the sand. In four of them, he solved it masterfully, it must be said.
However, everything pointed to Ancer managing to maintain the lead, with some suffering but winning. Everything changed on the fifteenth hole with an unnecessary mistake. He arrived at that hole with a two-stroke lead over his immediate pursuers and in two minutes everything changed. Too long a drive from the tee and the Mexican took his ball to the stream that crosses the middle of the fairway. He gets into the river to try to play from there. He doesn’t see it clearly. Drops, penalty and from there he manages to minimise damage ‘saving’ the hole with a bogey. Just after Smith makes the birdie. The advantage vanished, everything tied. To all this and a few minutes later a great Paul Casey holed from the bunker behind hole 16 where he closed his round and tied Ancer and Smith. Three-way tie and the Mexican had two holes left. On hole 17 he left a four-metre birdie putt that he failed to hole and on 18 the sensible objective was perhaps not to lose the tournament. Par and to the playoff.
If until that moment Ancer has dealt with suffering, in the playoff he has known how to play with pressure wonderfully and has signed a spectacular birdie on a hole that has been played over par on the day (4.22). In fact, both Casey and Smith made five strokes on the only playoff hole. Solid tee shot from Abraham and masterful iron that left him an almost made birdie putt. He couldn’t fail and although two putts were enough for the victory, he holed the birdie that gave him the final win. Ancer becomes the 14th different player to win in the Saudi league.
Honours also to Cam Smith and Paul Casey who today have fought like cats on their backs to dispute a victory that seemed impossible yesterday at this time.
Rahm has signed his fourth top 10 in as many tournaments in LIV Golf, but the truth is that he has never given the impression of fighting for the final victory. As has happened the rest of the week whenever the Barrika native showed his paw and got into the fight, the mistake came right after. Today, after the birdie on hole 13, a last option to go for the victory opened up for him, but after a drive that ended up opening too much, he hit a branch on the second shot and made the second bogey that ended his options. Not so much for distance on the leaderboard but because he did not show signs of being able to regularly and accurately attack the last flags. Finally, a round of one under par allows him to finish among the top eight in the tournament.
The other Spaniard who started with serious chances of victory, Eugenio López Chacarra (-9), has not been able to maintain the pace of the first two rounds and has succumbed to the claws of the course with a painful one over par that has taken him out of the final top 10. David Puig has signed his second consecutive round under par and says goodbye in 34th position. Sergio García has finally been 38th.
In the team competition, the Crushers have signed a last nine holes of a great deal. Coming from behind and without having appeared at the top of the leaderboard throughout the tournament, the team captained by Bryson DeChambeau (-11) has taken the final victory. The second consecutive one, by the way. Next stop, Miami, in the week before the first major of the season. Hold on, curves are coming.
