He may not dominate headlines like some of his peers, but Abraham Ancer is a name to watch on Tour. Infact, he may just be the most underrated player currently on the PGA circuit.
Born in McAllen, Texas, and growing up just across the border in Reynosa, Mexico, Ancer’s interest in golf came naturally. Introduced to the game by his father, Ancer Senior at Reynosa Country Club when he was just a toddler, his dad hoped his early immersion in the sport would one day turn into a passion.
However Abraham wasn’t like most players his age, as he would regularly play in frigid temperatures and practice until dusk. Ancer Senior would be walking off the course after eighteen holes only to find his son diligently practicing the finer aspects of his game on the range. Sometimes the duo would play nine holes together before his father would take a quick break to grab a bite to eat or play a game of cards while supervising his son practicing his short game with his friends. With no swing coach to help mold him, Ancer Senior became his de facto coach.
Coming from a middle-class family, the Ancers paid the fees for tournaments out of pocket for Abraham, while providing a constant source of encouragement along the way.
The long odds of a kid becoming a professional golfer from Reynosa Mexico was something no one thought would happen but the Ancers certainly weren’t short on belief. His dad had a hunch early on that the odds of his son becoming a professional on the PGA Tour may not have been as far fetched as some believed.
In 2005, at the age of fourteen Ancer attended Sharyland High School in Mission Texas. Ancer absolutely loved everything about the school, as it allowed him to continue to practice on the varsity golf team.
Unfortunately, though he had dual citizenship, Ancer only knew a limited amount of English. He took part in speech class though it felt unnatural for him early on. Even with his advanced golf game and his standout academics, Ancer only received one college golf scholarship offer from a school in West Texas called Odesa. During his college career, Ancer took the collegiate circuit by storm, winning the Jack Nicklaus Award as the nation’s top junior golfer. It would prove a pivotal moment for the kid from Reynosa as it allowed him to get noticed by D1 coaches and transfer to Oklahoma.
His golf coach Ryan Hybil watched Ancer’s first two holes in Oklahoma and was blown away. Ancer continued to impress, adding to his trophy case after winning twice in his first season in Oklahoma. Not only did he post two victories in his first season but Ancer also carded the second-lowest career scoring average in the history of the school.
This led to the next logical step in his golfing career as he went to Q-school to participate in the Korn Ferry Golf Tour. The achievements continued to pile up for Ancer as he finished second in a tournament in Brazil after only four starts. He followed this up by earning his spot on the PGA tour with a professional win in Nova Scotia.
Unfortunately, it was at this time that Ancer’s father passed away suddenly from a heart attack. The now 30 year old pro believes Abraham Senior is watching him achieve his dreams from above, and would be proud to see him play the game that he introduced to his son.
Ancer participated in his first Tour event at the 2015 Safeway Open. But as he watched Rory McIlroy drive the ball down the range 320 yards, he quickly realized that was something he didn’t have in his golf game. He wasn’t the type of player that had the long drive gene, so he tried everything from altering his swing to switching clubs in an effort to keep up with his peers on the PGA circuit.
Unfortunately his once smooth stroke went south in a big way. He would play some of the worst golf he’d ever played, so he decided to go back to his old ways and roll with what he knew best. The best way he could evaluate his golf game was by taking a relegation break from the tour for a year to practice his driving skills and fine tune his short game. Rebuilding his self-confidence would prove more important than trying to emulate someone else’s golf style.
With his game back on track, Ancer returned to the PGA tour and displayed his much improved swing alongside the worlds best. He closed out 2018 with five top 10 finishes and would cap it off with one of his best performances in a 5 stroke victory at the Australian Open.
The following year Ancer qualified for the Tour Championship and became the first Mexican golfer to participate in the Presidents Cup where he grabbed the nation’s attention by posting a solid weekend of golf.
2020 saw Ancer rise to number twenty in the world rankings with more successful performances and only one missed cut. He further cemented his presence by qualifying for his first Masters and played his way into Sunday’s final group, before finishing tied for thirteenth after a disappointing final round 76.
Ancer is quickly learning how fine the line is between being a good golfer and a world-class golfer but that’s still within reach for the righty as he’s determined to achieve more professional success including earning a major victory in 2022. While he may not be a household name at the moment, this is shaping up to be a massive year for the kid from Reynosa.
-Keirsten Spade
Twitter: @SportsWithS