Top 10 power rankings in 2022 The American Express
Abraham Ancer couldn’t have been overly pleased with his first two go-rounds at The American Express. Now, he’s knocking on the door of grabbing a trophy here. Ancer missed the cut in Palm Springs in 2016 and lost steam on the weekend in 2018 en route to 76th.
His career really began to take off in 2020, right around the time he managed his best PGA Tour finish to date at the 2020 The American Express. Ancer carded 68-67-66-63 to take solo second. His 24-under total would have been good enough to win or reach a playoff in five of the previous nine years. Alas, Andrew Landry edged Ancer by two shots.
“Well last year, last round I played really, really well, shot 9-under. My buddy Landry clipped me there on the last two, which, it was cool, he made some awesome putts and great shots,” Ancer was transcribed in 2021 by ASAP Sports. “But I know what to do here, you just got to make birdies. Unless the wind picks up and if it gets a little colder, I mean the Stadium is a really good challenge. So just got to keep my blinders on and keep plugging along and make some birdies.”
At the 2021 The American Express, Ancer made 26 birdies (T-3rd) in 2020. He was tops in greens in regulation (79.17%) and T-4th (86.67%) in scrambling.
The Mexican-American finally won his first career PGA Tour event at the 2021 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, but not before enduring another top-five finish that left him on the outside looking in.
Ancer tallied 69-65-73-66 to earn T-5th. Three straight birdies to end the round Sunday earned him some extra cash. So did hitting 75% greens in regulation on the week. We last saw the former Oklahoma Sooner in action at the Sony Open where he missed the cut.
The week prior, Ancer finished T-35th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. These are not great results, but Ancer deserves some leeway while he acclimates to Callaway clubs after signing a new contract for 2022. The switch yielded immediate results for Jon Rahm in 2021. We’ll see if big things are coming for Ancer.