Ancer closes out unique victory at PIF Saudi International

Golf Saudi CEO Noah Alireza hands Abraham Ancer the trophy. (Golf Saudi)
Golf Saudi CEO Noah Alireza hands Abraham Ancer the trophy. (Golf Saudi)
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Updated 05 February 2023

Ancer closes out unique victory at PIF Saudi International

Golf Saudi CEO Noah Alireza hands Abraham Ancer the trophy. (Golf Saudi)
  • Mexican matches 19-under tournament record in first ever pillar to post win
  • American Cameron Young finishes second ahead of Australian Lucas Herbert

JEDDAH: Abraham Ancer completed the first ever pillar to post victory in the $5 million PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers on Sunday, closing with a 68 to card a record equaling 19 under par for the tournament, two ahead of American Cameron Young.

The 31-year-old Mexican conducted a masterclass in front running at the Asian Tour’s season-opening event, adding the title to his WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational win in 2021.

“That was my first ever wire-to-wire win,” said Ancer, whose steadiness at the helm was made possible by a solid, repeatable golf swing and sound putting stroke.

“I just didn’t think about where I was on the leaderboard. I just felt like I just want to do that again. I played really good the first round, and I just felt like I wanted to keep that going.

“I kept telling myself, just imagine if I was in like 20th place and just got to go out there and shoot a low one. It worked out. I stayed in the moment, didn’t really think too much about the previous shots or what was coming after. So, I’m really happy with my frame of mind during these four rounds.”

Ancer led by two from Young at the start of the day and was caught by the American on the seventh. But by the turn he had moved one ahead.

A closely fought contest was expected over the closing holes but Young made a bogey on the par four 13th, where he found the water with his approach shot, then doubled the par four 15th, after chipping short and taking three on the green.

Although Young rallied with birdies on 16 and 18 it was not enough to stop Ancer becoming only the second ever Mexican winner on the Asian Tour, after Carlos Espinosa took the 1995 Canlubang Classic in the Philippines.

Remarkably, despite the windy conditions during the week at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, Ancer dropped just two shots over the four rounds: on the ninth on Sunday and 17th on Friday.

Young, who matched Ancer’s 68 on Sunday, said: “It’s always disappointing but I think I played pretty well, and I’m playing a bunch the next few weeks. I think I’m in a nice place moving forward.

“He (Ancer) played some really nice golf. He just didn’t make really any mistakes. I think he maybe made two bogeys this whole week, and with all the wind blowing as hard as it was, that’s, one, tremendous control of your golf ball, and two, I think just a lot of mental toughness.”

The result was Young’s eighth top-three finish since last year, following a second in The Open and joint third in the PGA Championship.

“I’m proud of all those finishes,” he said. “There’s nothing I’ve thrown away, I don’t think. If one or two of them was a four-shot lead that I didn’t finish off, that’s a bummer, but I’ve been beat a lot. I haven’t thrown any of them away.”

Australian Lucas Herbert carded a 65 on Sunday to finish third, with Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana shooting a 66 to secure fourth spot and cement his place as one of Asia’s rising stars.

It was also a significant week for Arab golfers, with nine taking part in the PIF Saudi International. Saudi Arabia’s Saud Al-Sharif and Faisal Salhab made their professional debuts at the event, where amateurs Issa Abou El-Ela from Egypt and El Mehdi Fakori from Morocco both made the cut.


Koepka takes 3-shot lead in LIV Golf event ahead of Masters

Koepka takes 3-shot lead in LIV Golf event ahead of Masters
Updated 1 min 44 sec ago

Koepka takes 3-shot lead in LIV Golf event ahead of Masters

Koepka takes 3-shot lead in LIV Golf event ahead of Masters
  • Koepka aims to become the first multiple winner since the Saudi-funded LIV Golf began last June
  • He won a year ago in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in a playoff over Peter Uihlein

ORLANDO, Florida: Brooks Koepka became known for showing up big in the majors. He started to hit his stride Saturday with a 6-under 65 for a three-shot lead in LIV Golf-Orlando on the weekend before Koepka heads for the Masters.
Koepka played bogey-free at Orange County National. Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, who followed his 62 with an even-par 71, was second.
Mito Pereira (66), Laurie Canter (66) and Patrick Reed (67) were four shots back.
Koepka will try to become the first multiple winner since the Saudi-funded LIV Golf began last June. He won a year ago in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in a playoff over Peter Uihlein. Before that, Koepka’s last win was in February 2021 in the Phoenix Open as he battled a various assortment of injuries.
“Just got rid of the mental mistakes,” Koepka said.
He considered his previous two LIV Golf tournaments this year in Mexico and Tucson — what he called “dumb mistakes” at Mayakoba and “then go to Tucson and I played the tough holes really well and played the easy ones probably the worst in the field.”
Koepka won four majors in a span of three years — two US Opens and two PGA Championships. The Masters starts next week at Augusta National.
“Every time I try to play the week before a major, it’s always just to make sure my game is in good shape,” he said. “Just kind of go down the checklist of trying to make better decisions than normal. Just trying to play disciplined golf because when I go to a major, I’m so disciplined, and I think sometimes I can get a little bit carefree in regular events, firing at flags, missing on the wrong side. And I don’t do that in majors.”
Dustin Johnson (70) and British Open champion Cameron Smith (68) were seven shots behind. LIV Golf has 18 players who will be at the Masters next week.
In the team competition, Smash has a two-shot lead over Torque.


Mi Hyang Lee leads LPGA Tour event at Palos Verdes with 65

Mi Hyang Lee leads LPGA Tour event at Palos Verdes with 65
Updated 31 March 2023

Mi Hyang Lee leads LPGA Tour event at Palos Verdes with 65

Mi Hyang Lee leads LPGA Tour event at Palos Verdes with 65
  • Lee turned 30 on Thursday and called it ‘the best birthday round I’ve ever had’

PALOS VERDES ESTATES, California:  Mi Hyang Lee shot a 6-under 65 in her first LPGA Tour event of the year for a one-stroke lead in the opening round of the DIO Implant LA Open on Thursday.

Lee, a South Korean who earned her spot in a Monday qualifier, hit all 18 greens in regulation, played bogey-free and closed with a birdie on the par-4 18th hole in challenging conditions at Palos Verdes. Players endured intermitted rain and hail with temperatures in the 40s.

Lee turned 30 on Thursday and called it “the best birthday round I’ve ever had.”

Lee, ranked 378th in the world, has two career LPGA Tour victories, the more recent at the Ladies Scottish Open in 2017. She was runner-up at the ANA Inspiration, a major, in 2019 to reach a career-best 31st in the ranking but has struggled the past three years. She’s coming off a tie for sixth in an Epson Tour event last week.

Megan Khang and Hyo Joo Kim — a close friend of Lee’s — each shot 66. Nasa Hataoka, Lucy Li and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc were another shot behind.

“You know, I’ve come pretty close here and there,” said Khang, winless in eight years on the LPGA Tour. “I tell myself the more I give myself chances and opportunities the easier — quote-unquote — easier it’s going to get in those situations and trying to get my foot through the door. ... I know I’m capable of doing it and it’s just a matter of time.”

Second-ranked Nelly Korda and her sister, Jessica, were among the group at 3 under.

This is the fifth playing of the LA Open and the first at Palos Verdes, which hosted a different event, the Palos Verdes Championship, last year — won by Marina Alex, who shot a 1-over 72 on Thursday.


Legends of the game renew acquaintances at LIV Golf Orlando

Legends of the game renew acquaintances at LIV Golf Orlando
Updated 27 March 2023

Legends of the game renew acquaintances at LIV Golf Orlando

Legends of the game renew acquaintances at LIV Golf Orlando
  • LIV Golf Orlando takes place at Orange County National in Florida from March 31-April 2
  • Danny Lee of Iron Heads GC sank a birdie putt on the third playoff hole to claim the individual LIV Golf Tucson title

ORLANDO: The third event of the LIV Golf League, LIV Golf Orlando, takes place at Orange County National in Florida from March 31-April 2.

Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC and Charles Howell III were the team and idividual winners at the league opener, LIV Golf Mayakoba, in Mexico. 

Fireballs GC, featuring captain Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Eugenio Chacarra and Carlos Ortiz, subsequently captured the team win at LIV Golf Tucson in Arizona

Danny Lee of Iron Heads GC sank a birdie putt from off the green, on the third playoff hole, to claim the second individual title, in dramatic style, in Tucson.
 
LIV Golf’s 12 teams include reigning Open Champion Cameron Smith, World Golf Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson, two-time major winner Dustin Johnson and four-time major winner Brooks Koepka.

More than a quarter (13) of the league’s star-studded, international field are major champions, with 24 major victories amongst them. The field of 48 players represents 16 different nations, includes 18 Olympians, and has made 125 combined appearances in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, with more than half of the league having competed in the biennial team events.

In total, LIV Golf League players have amassed 530 worldwide wins across multiple tours, and four players have held the title of World No. 1.

This is the first official season of the LIV Golf League, with a 14-tournament schedule being hosted in seven different countries at some of the world’s top courses. Players are in pursuit of the 2023 LIV Golf Individual Championship and 2023 Team Championship, and after two events, Charles Howell III sits atop LIV Golf`s individual standings with 56 points.

The team standings, which decide seeding for the season-ending Team Championship, are currently led by captain Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC (48 points).


Boutier beats Hall in playoff to claim 3rd LPGA victory

Boutier beats Hall in playoff to claim 3rd LPGA victory
Updated 27 March 2023

Boutier beats Hall in playoff to claim 3rd LPGA victory

Boutier beats Hall in playoff to claim 3rd LPGA victory
  • With the victory, Boutier claimed her third LPGA victory and became the winningest French player on tour

GOLD CANYON, Arizona: Celine Boutier beat Georgia Hall with a birdie on the first playoff hole Sunday to win the LPGA Drive on Championship.
Boutier forced a playoff by making a testy birdie putt at the par-5 18th to close out a 4-under 68, matching Hall (65) at 20-under 268 in the LPGA’s first full-field event of the season.
Playing the 18th hole again, neither golfer found the green with their second shot of the playoff. Boutier, chipping from nearly the same spot as she did in regulation short and right of the green, pitched to about 4 feet. Meanwhile, Hall hit her second shot into a greenside bunker, blasted beyond the hole and failed to convert her birdie effort. That set the stage for Boutier’s winning birdie putt.

Celine Boutier plays her shot on the 17th tee during the final round of the LPGA Drive On Championship on March 26, 2023 in Arizona. (Getty Images/AFP )

With the victory, the 29-year-old Boutier claimed her third LPGA victory and became the winningest French player on tour, moving past Patricia Meunier-Lebouc and Anne-Marie Palli. She had previously won the 2019 ISPS Handa Vic Open and 2021 ShopRite Classic
After three birdie-filled rounds at Superstition Mountain Golf Club, the final round started with 17 players within three shots of the lead and stayed to form. Hall made the most of her fourth round, posting one of three 7-under par scores, including going 6 under on the back nine to charge into the early lead.
Japan’s Ayaka Furue closed with a 65 and finished third at 19 under. Na Rin An of South Korea was alone in fourth at 18 under with a closing 67, while American Ally Ewing (67) and South Korea’s Jin Young Ko (68) were another stroke back in fifth.
 


Scheffler, McIlroy at their best to reach Match Play semifinals

Scheffler, McIlroy at their best to reach Match Play semifinals
Updated 26 March 2023

Scheffler, McIlroy at their best to reach Match Play semifinals

Scheffler, McIlroy at their best to reach Match Play semifinals
  • Scheffler, who lost in the final in his Match Play debut in 2021, now has won 10 straight matches
  • McIlroy won with a 12-foot birdie putt, the proper ending to a match that both said was a testament to the quality of golf required

AUSTIN, Texas: The golf was as good as it gets. Rory McIlroy made 17 birdies in the 36 holes he played Saturday. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler rallied with six birdies in his last nine holes to reach the semifinals for the third straight year.

A little luck never hurts in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. And as great as McIlroy played, he needed some of that, too.

McIlroy never led in his quarterfinals match against Xander Schauffele. They came to the 18th hole all square, and McIlroy slumped slightly when he saw his drive headed left toward the trees. Schauffele hit his shot and quickly picked up his tee.

Imagine their surprise. McIlroy came upon a golf ball behind a tree and figured it was his. Schauffele was walking behind him and was stunned when McIlroy kept going.

“He hit a worse drive than I did and he ended up fine,” Schauffele said.

He got no argument from McIlroy.

“I expected my ball to be Xander’s ball on 18 behind that tree, and I got fortunate that mine trundled down the hill and obviously made the chip shot a lot easier,” McIlroy said. “Look, you need a little bit of fortune in these things, and that was a bit of luck for me today.”

McIlroy won with a 12-foot birdie putt, the proper ending to a match that both said was a testament to the quality of golf required. Schauffele applauded all the pivotal putts McIlroy made to stay in the fight.

It was like that all over Austin Country Club. The final version of Match Play lived up to its edge-of-the-seat reputation, with wild turns of momentum until four players remained.

Sam Burns advanced by beating Patrick Cantlay in 17 holes and then overcoming an early deficit to beat Mackenzie Hughes of Canada, 3 and 2, to reach the semifinals.

Burns advances to meet Scheffler, his best friend on tour with whom he often shares a house when they’re on the road. Their last encounter was at Colonial last year, when Burns made a 45-foot birdie putt to beat Scheffler in a playoff.

Cameron Young looked as if he had an easy time, until it wasn’t. He was 3 up at the turn, missed a chance to go 4 up on the 12th and then had to go to the 18th hole before he could dispatch of Bay Hill winner Kurt Kitayama.

Scheffler, who lost in the final in his Match Play debut in 2021, now has won 10 straight matches. He was 2 down against J.T. Poston in the morning with five holes left when he birdied the 17th to square the match and won the 18th with a par.

He was 3 down against former Match Play champion Jason Day through seven holes in the quarterfinals when he battled back, taking his first lead with a birdie on the 13th and then pulling away. He closed it out with a wedge to 2 inches on the 17th.

Scheffler said he and caddie Ted Scott had a chat when Day went birdie-birdie-eagle on the front nine to go 3 up. The eagle came on a 5-wood from 282 yards to 5 feet on the par-5 sixth hole at Austin Country Club.

“Just ride out the heater,” Scheffler said. “I had to stay patient.”

Day began to struggle with allergies on the eighth hole, and then Scheffler had a heater of his own by making six birdies over their final nine holes.

McIlroy reached the quarterfinals by making nine birdies against Lucas Herbert, and it still wasn’t decided until the 18th hole.

“I got to beaten by the best player in the world probably playing the best golf of anyone in the world would today,” Herbert said. “Pushed him all the way to the end. I just didn’t feel like there was a hell of a lot more I could have done.”

Schauffele made seven birdies against McIlroy and it wasn’t enough.

“I needed to dig deep,” McIlroy said. “He’s one of the best players in the world. I knew I was going to need to produce something similar to this morning. I was 16 under for two rounds of golf. That shows the caliber you need to play out there.”

Next up for McIlroy is Young, who finished ahead of him at St. Andrews last year with a 31 on the back nine. Young has made 31 birdies and two eagles in his five matches this week. He won his group on Friday with a 5-and-3 win. He made it through Saturday morning with a 5-and-4 rout of Billy Horschel. He was on his way to another romp against Kitayama.

But he missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 12th that would have put him 4 up. Kitayama won the next two holes with birdies. Young missed from 10 feet for birdie, 15 feet for eagle and 10 feet for birdie on the next three, all three putts burning the edge.

Ultimately, he only needed two putts from 15 feet on the 18th for the win. That was about the only easy part of his back nine.

“I don’t think I made a bogey today and I was biting my nails trying to win my match,” Young said. “I think it just shows you the quality of golf that’s played out here and how hard it is to get through even just one day like today, never mind that today was our fifth match.”

Day earlier on Saturday beat Matt Kuchar, leaving the 44-year-old American one match short of the tournament record. Kuchar leaves sharing the mark of 36 wins with Tiger Woods.

Now it’s Scheffler’s turn. Woods is the only player to win Match Play back to back. One day remains, and it feels like a long way to go.