Asian Tour Yearbook: 2023

Open in 2018, and WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational in 2021. Joint eighth in the 2022 edition of the PIF Saudi International, Ancer again found the formula to excel at Royal Greens. “You have to be very accurate. It’s a golf course you can get in a lot of trouble if you’re not in the fairway. You don’t necessarily have to hit it that far, but being in the fairway is a premium. I’ve been pretty good at keeping the ball in play. I think that’s the big key,” said Ancer, who dropped just two shots over the 72 holes, at the 17th in round two and the ninth on the final day. Ultimately, it was Ancer’s consistency that enabled him to repel the challenge of Young in what essentially proved to be a two-horse race. Ancer began the final round with a two- shot cushion from Young. There was then a five-stroke gap back to a trio of players in third. Although Young put his playing partner under pressure on the front nine, a bogey at 13, where he found the water with his approach shot, and a three-putt double at the par-four 15th, meant Ancer led by four with three holes remaining. Young rallied with birdies on 16 and 18 but it wasn’t enough to stop the Asian Tour witnessing only its second-ever Mexican winner, after Carlos Espinosa (1995 Canlubang Classic in the Philippines). Sadom Kaewkanjana [RIGHT], Lucas Herbert [BELOW], and Cameron Young [FAR RIGHT] started the season well at Royal Greens. Ancer said: “I didn’t think about where I was on the leaderboard. I played really well in the first round … and I just wanted to keep that going. “I kept telling myself to imagine I was in like 20th place and just go out there and shoot a low one. It worked out. I stayed in the moment. Didn’t think too much about the previous shots or what was coming after. I’m really happy with my frame of mind during these four rounds.” Also with cause for satisfaction was Young, although a tinge of frustration was evident. In 2022, Young finished second in The Open at St Andrews and joint third in the PGA Championship. His hopes of crossing the line first in Saudi also fell just short. Young who, like Ancer, signed off with a 68, said: “It’s disappointing but I played pretty well and I’m in a nice place moving forward. “He (Ancer) played some really nice golf and didn’t make any mistakes. He made two bogeys all week. With the wind blowing as hard as it was, that’s tremendous control of your golf ball … and a lot of mental toughness.” Also displaying mental fortitude was Ervin Chang, recipient of the Kyi Hla Han Future Champions Programme Award. The Malaysian rookie pro birdied his final hole in round two to finish on the cut line at even-par. With a closing 67, he ended in a share of 58th spot. 34 P I F SAUDI I N T ER NAT IONA L POWER ED BY SOF T BA NK I N V E STMEN T A DV I SER S ROYA L G R E E N S GO L F A N D CO U N T RY C L U B | F E B R UA RY 2 - 5 , 2 0 2 3 | P R I Z E MON E Y U S $ 5 M I L L I ON