Abraham Ancer closes in on maiden LIV Golf win in Hong Kong
Abraham Ancer is closing in on his maiden win in the lucrative LIV Golf League after opening up a five-shot, 36-hole lead in Hong Kong.
Abraham Ancer is closing in on his maiden victory in the lucrative LIV Golf League after opening up a five-shot lead in Hong Kong.
Ancer fired a bogey-free 8-under 68 at Hong Kong Golf Club on Saturday.
The former PGA Tour pro is five clear of Harold Varner III and fellow Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra.
Cameron Smith and Jon Rahm are both on 9-under and have it all to do on the final day.
At the bottom of the leaderboard Anthony Kim returned a scorecard for 72 which was four strokes better than his day one.
Phil Mickelson opened with an 80 but bounced back on day two with a two-under 68.
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"I'm not going to be thinking I'm leading the tournament," Ancer said, who birdied 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16 on Saturday.
"I'm just going to go out there and stay in the present, go about my routine, and just keep doing the same thing. T
"Try to focus on the shot that I've got in front of me. That's all I can do."
Ancer suggested that he in previous weeks he has felt something 'clicking' with his game.
The Mexican previously won the 2018 Australian Open after sleeping on a five-shot lead.
"I think that was in 2018 or 2019," he said.
"Going into the final round I had a five-shot lead, and I was not thinking about that, I was just going about my routine and staying in the moment and felt like I was chasing somebody, felt like I needed to make some birdies.
"Obviously [I am not] not going to play super aggressive. This is a golf course where you have to be in the fairway and position yourself.
"That's going to be my mentality. I'm not going to be thinking about the lead or where I'm at, just doing the same thing I've been doing these two days."
On the team front, Sergio Garcia's Fireballs lead Smith's Ripper by three shots on 28-under. Cleeks are six behind the Fireballs.
.@Abraham_Ancer is building a lead at the top
He's leading at 15-under and 5 shots clear of the field #LIVGolf @fireballsgc_ pic.twitter.com/ejhGp5LsTs
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) March 9, 2024
Individual leaderboard round two:
A. Ancer -15
H. Varner, E. Chacarra -10
C. Smith, H. Stenson, J. Rahm -9
C. Ortiz, M. Jones, D. Burmester, A. Meronk, I. Poulter, S. Munoz -8
Team:
Fireballs -28
Ripper -25
Cleeks -22
Torque -21
Crushers -21
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