Abraham Ancer birdied the first playoff hole to win LIV Golf Hong Kong and capture his first championship on the circuit on a rainy Sunday.
Ancer entered the final round with a commanding five-stroke lead after opening rounds of 63 and 62. But a 2-over 72 allowed Cameron Smith of Australia (66) and England’s Paul Casey (64) a chance to tie Ancer at 13-under 197 at Hong Kong Golf Club.
Joaquin Niemann of Chile (63) and Carlos Ortiz of Mexico (66) finished tied for fourth at 12-under, and Americans Kevin Na (64) and Bryson DeChambeau (66) tied for sixth at 11-under.
Entering play Sunday, Ancer hadn’t made bogey on any hole but that changed on Nos. 5 and 8, a pair of par-3s. The Mexico native birdied No. 10 but gave back the stroke with a bogey on No. 15.
“It was definitely a grind,” Ancer said. “I made it a lot more stressful than I envisioned it. … I’m really proud of how I felt mentally and how I fought the whole round not having my best stuff.”
Ancer earned a $4 million payday after the birdie on the first playoff hole at No. 18 on Sunday. He reached the green in two and was left with a 5-foot putt for the win. Both Smith and Casey made bogeys on the hole after errant tee shots.
“It’s such a difficult tee shot. It’s maybe the most difficult tee shot on this golf course and the most penal because either side you miss it left, you miss it right, you’re blocked out by trees and a treacherous green with a lot of pitch to it,” Casey said.
“As Abe showed, if you stick it in the middle of the fairway, you can be very aggressive. Birdie is still an unbelievable score on that hole.”
But Casey said he wouldn’t let that tee shot weigh on him.
“I’m not measuring my week on one hole. It was a great week,” he said. “Loved it. Very happy for Abe.”
Anthony Kim, who is returning to pro golf after a 12-year absence, also had to be thrilled with his round on Sunday. He opened with rounds of 76 and 72 but recorded a 65 — his first below-par round in two events.
“It’s just one round of golf. But I played the right way,” Kim said. “I played the right way, and I didn’t do anything extraordinary. I just played like I know how to play.”
Kim will play in the International Series Macau on the Asian Tour and then in the LIV Golf event in Miami on April 5-7.
“I knew something good was coming,” Kim said. “It’s hard to stay patient when you feel like it’s right there, and I’m really happy that it hasn’t taken me one more round to get here. I’m just happy about the progress I’m making and the confidence I’m building going into the next few weeks.”
In the team event, Casey and Crushers GC won their second straight title, coming from seven shots back after 36 holes. Last week in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the team was 11 shots back entering the final round.
In addition to DeChambeau’s 66, Charles Howell III had a 67 and Anirban Lahiri added a 68.
“What a great group of guys,” Casey said. “We’ve got something — we spoke briefly about it after Jeddah, that we’ve got something that you can’t measure, and I firmly believe that.”
–Field Level Media