7 minute read
ABRAHAM ANCER
Becoming the finest ANCER
t’s not been easy for Abraham Ancer to become a professional golfer, never mind
Ione of the world’s best. At only 5ft 7’’ and raised in Mexican border city Reynosa,
Ancer was introduced to the game by his father while he was still in nappies. As he grew up, he would practice while his dad played 18 holes then they would play nine together afterwards. “For as long as I can remember I had a golf club in my hand,” says the 30 year old as we catch up at an Audemars Piguet event at The Els Club. “I just fell in love with the game very early, started playing tournaments when I was six years old and I never stopped.”
ncer, who spoke limited English as a
Ateenager, only received one offer to play college golf, but emphatically took advantage of the opportunity. He won six medals whilst at a junior college in west Texas called Odessa, including one stretch of fi ve wins from six starts. He was also honoured to claim the Jack Nicklaus Award as the nation’s top junior college player. This was exceptional recognition for the young Mexican which helped him earn a transfer to the University of Oklahoma where he thrived again as he went on to post the second-lowest career scoring average in OU history, behind only Anthony Kim.
Things couldn’t have been going any smoother for the aspiring golfer. However, the unthinkable happened in 2014 – his father died of a heart attack. The loss was hard to take. He had earned a conditional status for the Korn Ferry Tour but ended up losing that.
The following year, Ancer bounced back and made it through Q-School earning his full status on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2015. In this breakthrough season, he fi nished second in Brazil and three months later he earned his fi rst professional win in Nova Scotia which meant he was guaranteed a PGA Tour card. This was the opportunity he had always dreamed about.
But just when he thought his career was set to blossom, he found he wasn’t quite ready for the demands of the PGA Tour. Rather than trusting his own ability, he tried to change elements of his swing and match the bigger hitters. “When I fi rst made it to the PGA Tour, I got there and I looked at some of the big names playing out there and I had this doubt about whether I have what it takes, so I started changing things and playing like someone else”, Ancer admits. “It went downhill from there and I realised that I don’t have to change anything, I just have to get better.”
ASTONISHING CLIMB
He returned again to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2017 and started focusing again on the basics that had got him to where he was and ended up fi nishing in the top three in the money list to earn another shot on the PGA Tour in 2018. This time around, he arrived equipped to make good on his potential.
In four seasons on the PGA Tour, he’s gone from 272nd in the Offi cial World Golf Ranking to his current position of 12th. This is an astonishing climb up the rankings that saw him gain a spot in the DP World Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship. It was an experience he relished. “I loved playing in my fi rst tournament in the UAE,” he says. “I hit the ball great but didn’t really make any putts all week which was a bit frustrating but it was a great experience and I defi nitely want to come back.”
It’s not just the golf scene that Ancer adores about Dubai and makes him want to return soon. “The food is unbelievable in Dubai! You can get any type of food you can imagine, incredible hotels and golf courses, you’ve got everything you need.
“Even though I’m scared of heights, I went up the Burj Khalifa. Now I know I’m defi nitely petrifi ed of heights after going up there! It’s a great city and there are so many things to do and see but I just wish I had a little more time to explore everything.”
Ancer is quite the character on and off the golf course. He has launched his own brand of tequila in true Mexican style and has a rather extensive putting collection. “I probably have around 95 to 100 putters!” he says. “I wouldn’t call myself a collector because I don’t go out there and search for them but I have some really good friends who work for the brands on Tour and they’re very nice to me.
“They often send me some putters to try and I tell them that I don’t need them but I do love putters so I accept them! I have a lot of cool ones from Joe Toulon, Callaway’s putter guru, and Odyssey that they sent me from Japan. One of them has an insert made of Damascus metal in the front and it’s just something that you can’t really get anywhere else in the world other than Japan.”
Ancer has actually never had a swing coach so it’s remarkable that he’s managed to surge up the Rankings to just outside the world’s top 10. His favourite quote is from Zig Zagler, who said, ‘You are the only person on earth who can use your ability’. Extraordinary iron play, sublime short game skills and pin-point accuracy off the tee are what his golf game is about – not big bombs off the tee. With an average driving distance of 295 yards, Ancer proves that you don’t have to be a monster off the tee to be successful.
He became the fi rst Mexican to win the Emirates Australian Open in 2018 when he raced away to victory by fi ve strokes. This helped him climb into the world’s top 60 and his consistency has been remarkable ever since. The following season after his win Down Under, he created more history when becoming the fi rst Mexican to play in the Presidents Cup and he showed that he more than belonged in such elite company when he emerged as the international team’s joint top point scorer with 3.5 points from fi ve matches.
In 2020, in 21 starts, he posted more runnerup fi nishes (two) than missed cuts (one) as he rose up the World Rankings. Better yet, he got to test his game on golf ’s grandest stage when he qualifi ed for the Masters for the fi rst time. This would be a nerve-wracking experience for most, but Ancer looked shockingly comfortable in his debut at Augusta National, playing his way into Sunday’s fi nal group - only to fade to tied 13th with a fi nal-round 76.
If this didn’t turn heads of his more esteemed golfi ng peers, his next victory certainly did. In 2021, Ancer sealed a career-defi ning win in the 2021 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational after beating reigning Masters champion Hadeki Matsuyama and Sam Burns in a playoff.
It is clear to see that his career only headed in one direction and it wouldn’t shock anybody if Abraham Ancer becomes the fi rst Mexican to get their hands on a Major title in the coming years.
QUICKFIRE
Favourite golf course and why?
I’d say Royal Melbourne Golf Club. I’m a big fan of the sand-belt courses in Australia, I just love how fi rm they are and how good you have to be around the greens. You have to be extremely precise and the bunkering is beautiful. I feel that’s how golf should be played.
Last fi lm you watched?
It was the Dark Knight for like the 90th time! I love it.
Last holiday you took?
I feel like I’m on holiday all the time! I haven’t been on a vacation without my clubs for a long time, so I just want to be home whenever I have time. That would be my holiday!
What’s your favourite Audemars Piguet watch?
That’s tough to pick just one. I have a small wrist and I can’t really pull off the big watches so I’ve always been a huge fan of all the Royal Oak collection. There are so many beautiful AP watches that I can’t just pick one, but the Royal Oak one I’m wearing now is stunning.
