Abraham Ancer has been making noise on the PGA Tour, leading in the final round at the Quicken Loans National and again at the Dell Technologies Championship. This week? He’s playing alongside Tiger Woods at the WGC-Mexico Championship.
But who is the budding Mexican golf star? Here are seven things to know about Ancer.
1. He’s a dual citizen
Ancer was born in the U.S. but plays under the Mexican flag. He carries dual citizenship in Mexico and the U.S. He was born in McAllen, Texas, but his family soon moved to Reynosa, Mexico. “All my life I grew up in Mexico, until I was 15,” he said. “And all my family is from there. A lot of people ask me, ‘Hey, why do you play for Mexico?’ That’s all I knew. All my friends know I’m very Mexican.”
2. He’s still looking for that first PGA Tour victory
“I’ve always dreamt about winning a PGA Tour event,” he told the Boston Globe. “[I’ve been] playing this sport since I can really remember, since I [was] three or four years old. It will obviously mean the world to me and for Mexico, too, because Mexico hasn’t had a player win since, I don’t know, 40 years ago or something. It would be very special.”
Ancer found his way onto the PGA Tour in 2016 but had a difficult time, making just six cuts in 19 starts. He finished 197th on the money list. He fared better on the Web.com tour in 2017 and earned his way back to the big Tour.
3. He’s just 5-foot-7
Ancer has joined the ranks of shorter PGA Tour players, listed at just 5-foot-7. He’s a reminder that not all modern players have to be Koepka-sized to succeed. His height puts him somewhere below Rory McIlroy (5-9) and in the realm of small, successful players like David Lingmerth and Brian Harman (each listed at 5-7). Ancer doesn’t hit the ball terribly far (295.9 average driving distance, 101st on Tour) but hits a fairly high percentage of fairways.
4. He went to the University of Oklahoma
After attending Odessa Junior College in Texas, Ancer played three years for the Oklahoma Sooners and left quite the legacy. He finished second in OU history in career scoring average in relation to par at 72.42 (+0.93), behind only Anthony Kim (71.73; +0.22). He finished his career with two wins and shot a nine-under 63 and the Desert Shootout his sophomore year, tied for low 18-hole round in school history.
5. He’s Miura’s first-ever “PGA Tour Brand Ambassador”
This is a big deal for Miura, which has been making finely-crafted forged irons for years (including, by report, for Tiger Woods) but never sought out a formal relationship with a Tour player until now. In a release, Miura described Ancer as “the perfect partner to grow Miura’s presence on and off the course,” citing a desire to grow the company’s reach to Mexico. You can see his irons here.
(Editor’s note: Miura and GOLF.com share the same parent company.)
6. He’s got one of golf’s best swagger-walks
No explanation needed for this – take a look for yourself at how this man struts after his ball.
Looking forward to the weekend here at @WyndhamChamp! #TeamAncer pic.twitter.com/90FRIinBOD
— Abraham Ancer (@Abraham_Ancer) August 17, 2018
Had a blast this week at @WGCMexico. Thank you fans for the support this week! #TeamAncer pic.twitter.com/ecRI3X6Nc2
— Abraham Ancer (@Abraham_Ancer) March 5, 2018
7. The man knows how to savor a moment
Particularly after his win at the 2018 Australian Open.
The moment…
The champion, @Abraham_Ancer 🏆#AusOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/2NHYC6eJHn
— Australian Open (@AusOpenGolf) November 18, 2018
