Abraham Ancer, a top player with LIV Golf, has talked about the hardships he had in the early years of his professional golf career, including losing his father a few weeks after being rejected from Q-School.
After making his debut on the PGA Tour prior to joining LIV, Ancer has established himself as one of the biggest names in golf in recent years. The top golfer in Mexico has faced challenges in the past, having to fight his way through qualifying school and smaller tours.
He told LIV’s Fairway to Heaven podcast about his challenging beginnings both on and off the golf course, saying, “In the beginning it was really tough, because I went to my first Q-School and made it through all the stages.”
“I make it to the finals, but I think I lost out on my entire card by a few strokes. I was clearly devastated when my dad passed suddenly a month after the finals. I returned to my family since I was at a loss for what to do, and I stopped practicing for at least a month.
“That year was incredibly difficult, and I wasn’t sure what to do. I was still in Oklahoma. I struggled a lot and didn’t really play well because my mind wasn’t really in it. The next year, I had to return to Q-School, but I was feeling a little better. I had to go through all the stages once more, and happily, I was granted my complete card.
“It was amazing to receive my PGA Tour card after playing for an entire season. My father’s dream was for me to succeed in this sport, therefore at the time I wished he could be here to share this moment with me.” Following his admission to the PGA Tour,At the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational in July 2021, he won his first championship.
LIV Hong Kong was won this morning by Abraham Ancer.
Then, a year later, he was among several celebrities to make the huge financial transition to the LIV arrangement. After failing to reach his best form on the breakaway circuit, he overcame Paul Casey and Cam Smith in a tight playoff to take his first victory earlier this month at LIV Hong Kong.
With his victory at Hong Kong Golf Club, the Mexican earned a whooping £3.2 million ($4 million), his largest paycheck to date. Ancer was outstanding in the first two rounds, and even though he struggled in the third, he persevered to win the title.
He stated, “I’m really proud of that,” after the round. I’m rather pleased of my mental state and the way I battled through the entire round without using my strongest suit. I was aware that it would be difficult. There are some well-known names immediately behind me, and I anticipated that there might be a few extremely low rounds, such as [Paul Casey].
“I was aware that I needed to have some good stuff come in or make some birdies coming in. Sadly, I didn’t have any birdies heading in, but it was still good enough to force a playoff, and I felt good about hitting my final two decent strokes to seal the deal. It was a pretty stressful round, so it felt great.”
