For the second straight week, LIV Golf and the PGA Tour squared off on golf courses in the Middle East. This time, LIV’s Abraham Ancer evened the count with a victory on “home” turf in Saudi Arabia.
Ancer went wire to wire at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City north of Jeddah to win the Asian Tour’s PIF Saudi International by two shots over Cameron Young. It was the Mexican-American’s first win since the 2021 WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
“That was my first ever wire-to-wire win,” said the 31-year-old Ancer. “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 good the first round, and I just felt like I wanted to keep that going.”
Earlier in the week, PGA Tour flagbearer and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy made birdie on the final hole to secure a one-stroke victory over LIV heavyweight Patrick Reed in the weather-delayed finish last Monday of the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
The consecutive on-course showdowns immediately precede the much anticipated arbitration encounter this week in London’s International Dispute Resolution Centre, where the fate of future competitive rivalry matchups on the DP World Tour will be resolved.
"I’ve been beat a lot. I haven’t thrown any of them away.”
Cameron Young
It was largely a two-man race in Saudi Arabia all week, with Young nipping at Ancer’s heels since the opening round. Four early birdies Sunday erased a two-shot deficit and pulled Young all square with Ancer through seven holes in the final round before Ancer went back up by 2 on the eighth with a birdie to Young’s bogey.
Trailing by one on the back, Young bogeyed the 13th hole before making a three-putt double bogey on 15 to fall four shots behind, rendering a pair of late birdies moot. Ancer held on with nine consecutive pars on the back to finish two clear at 19-under.
“It’s disappointing, but I think I played pretty well, and I’m playing a bunch the next few weeks,” said Young, who has posted eight top-three finishes without a win in the last 17 months, including runner-up in the Open Championship and a tie for third in the PGA Championship. “So, I think I’m in a nice place moving forward.
“I’m proud of all those finishes. There’s nothing I’ve thrown away, I don’t think. If one or two of them was a four-shot lead that I didn’t finish off, that’s a bummer, but I’ve been beat a lot. I haven’t thrown any of them away.”
Lucas Herbert of Australia finished third at 16-under, a shot behind Young and one ahead of Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana. LIV’s Paul Casey claimed solo fifth.
The Asian Tour’s flagship event funded by the same Public Investment Fund that bankrolls LIV Golf was littered with dozens of LIV players, seven of whom finished in the top 10. Not all of LIV’s stars fared so well with the cut line, as Phil Mickelson, Cam Smith, Bubba Watson and Bryson DeChambeau all failed to reach the weekend.
Scott Michaux