LIV Golf's Abraham Ancer wins PIF Saudi International by two shots
Abraham Ancer became the first wire-to-wire winner of the PIF Saudi International after carding a 68 on Sunday at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.
LIV Golf's Abraham Ancer has won the PIF Saudi International after carding a final-round 68, becoming the first player to taste victory at the event in wire-to-wire fashion.
Ancer led by two shots at the beginning of the final day at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in Saudi Arabia, but the PGA Tour rookie of the year Cameron Young drew level with the Mexican on the 7th hole with four early birdies.
However, Young made critical mistakes on the back nine when finding the water with his approach to the par-4 13th hole. He also double-bogeyed the 15th hole after a disappointing three-putt.
Ancer made nine pars in his last nine holes to seal the deal by two shots. It is the 31-year-old's first win since the FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2021 and another runner-up finish for Young who made a mini-comeback with two birdies in his last three holes.
¡Vamos Jefe! @Abraham_Ancer #PIF_SaudiIntlGolf #SeeItAll pic.twitter.com/d6dquMJFjy
— Saudi International | السعودية الدولية (@SaudiIntlGolf) February 5, 2023
"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 well the first round, and I just felt like I wanted to keep that going," Ancer said.
"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."
Australia's Lucas Herbert finished four shots behind on 15-under while the Asian Tour's own Sadom Kaewkanjana finished on 14-under in outright 4th place.
Ancer banked $1 million for his victory in this year's first Asian Tour event and it is his first trophy since joining the LIV Golf Tour in June 2022. He is set to tee it up in his own country for the LIV season opener at Mayakoba on February 24.
At the end of January, the Saudi-backed series announced its full 14-event schedule for 2023 with the team championship finale returning to Jeddah, the site of Ancer's win on Sunday.
