Last year they told him: “Turco, this course fits you like a glove”. They were referring to the Real Club Valderrama, the author of the phrase was Sergio García and the recipient of the compliment was Abraham Ancer. Obviously, the comment from the golfer from Borriol, as captain of the Fireballs, was, in addition to being objective, nobody in the world doubts that Valderrama is tailor-made for the Mexican’s clinical tee to green game, to motivate him, to give him even more energy and confidence. But we already know how sport in general and golf in particular deal with these types of predictions.
Ancer confesses that the expectation of doing well, something he himself confirmed in his first practice round at the Sotogrande course, added a kind of extra pressure that did not allow him to bring out his best game. It was something like everyone expects him to do well and I feel analysed and observed in every shot. Things didn’t go very well for him that week a year ago. Ancer finished in 20th place, but it did serve as a turning point in the season, as he played much better from there until the end, and learned a lot about how to approach these types of weeks where there is the expectation of doing well.
He put it into practice very soon. It was this same year in Hong Kong, in the fourth event of the LIV Golf season. The same thing happened. The comment came back. This course is tailor-made for you. However, this time, instead of taking the phrase as a responsibility, he decided to enjoy and focus even more on each shot. Eureka! Ancer’s success. Victory in Hong Kong.
He now knows how to do it and that puts him in a privileged position among the top contenders for victory at the LIV Golf in Valderrama which takes place in two weeks. “It’s funny because they told me in Valderrama and in Hong Kong. I didn’t take it very well the first time, but I learned how to approach the tournament and in Hong Kong it went better for me. I really like Valderrama. I fell in love with the course straight away and hopefully I can live up to those expectations that it’s a course that suits my game very well,” says Abraham in a video call appearance before several Spanish journalists alongside his Fireballs teammates.
At that same media attention were Sergio García, the captain and lord and master of Valderrama, David Puig and Eugenio López Chacarra. All of them are warming up for the event in Spain, their home. Although for Ancer it is also. “We’ve adopted him, he’s one of us,” says Sergio laughing and playing the role of captain. “I like being captain and all I’m looking for is for us to be together, for there to be a good feeling between us. I try every time we can to stay together in houses at tournaments, have dinner together… make a team, strengthen bonds. Other than that, I don’t get too involved in their golf, I don’t think I should. They’re all very good and they know perfectly well what they have to do, however, if they ever need advice or want to talk about something, they know I’m always available,” he says.
Sergio, who is having his best season since he’s been in LIV Golf, has to be one of the favourites when it comes to Valderrama. He takes it naturally. It’s almost like playing at home. “I always say it and I’ll never get tired of reminding it. It’s my favourite course”. If he has his week, he will be the player to beat. We should also keep an eye on Bryson DeChambeau, who finished second last year and is the best player in LIV this year, or Brooks Koepka, who finished third.
Puig and Chacarra are also candidates. They play at home and they can do very well. David already shone on his own last year and is in very good form, as he showed in the US Open or with his third place in the recent LIV in Houston. In addition, his short game, magical like few others, fits perfectly to the demands of Valderrama. “It’s especially tense because the greens are small and very moved. You don’t have much space to recover, so you need the ball to go up a lot and come down quickly, that’s the main difficulty,” he points out.
Both David and Eugenio are also playing in the next week to finish the year among the top 24 in the ranking to secure their place next year on the circuit without having to negotiate again with the team. Chacarra seems to have found a driver that fits well with his golf. He feels more comfortable and hopes to bring out his best version in Valderrama. “It’s always a pleasure to play in Spain, with the public and I hope things go well. They’ve set me up a new driver and I think it’s much better,” he says.
The Fireballs are already in Spain and are warming up to put on a show at Valderrama. By the way, everyone, except Puig who is already classified, will arrive after playing the preliminary of the Open Championship next Tuesday, July 2nd.
