Looking for a long shot to back this weekend at the Tour Championship? Abraham Ancer is willing to give it a shot.
Ancer, a native of Mexico, began the tournament at No. 22, nine shots behind the leader. He shot a 6-under 64 and moved all way into fifth place, six shots off the lead.
“I just picture myself as if this was a five-day event and I shot 1 under yesterday,” Ancer said. “I just have to make up some ground. Actually, it’s quite nice seeing yourself move up with a good round, which on a golf course like this you can do.”
Ancer birdied three consecutive holes to make the turn in 31. From there it was nothing except a parade of pars until he reached the 18th hole and reaped an eagle.
“I had fun. It was very solid,” Ancer said. “It was a beautiful second shot (at 18) and a good, solid putt.”
On the par-5 18th, Ancer mashed a 341-yard drive just in front of the pond on the closing hole and used his 4-hybrid – a club he only recently added to his bag – to launch his approach shot 242 yards, where it settled about 24 feet from the hole. The long double-breaker eagle putt was dead on.
Since competition resumed in June, Ancer has missed only one cut and was runner-up at the RBC Heritage, his best finish on Tour. This is Ancer’s second trip to the Tour Championship; he tied for 21st in 2018.
Also when it comes to long shots, don’t discount Tyrell Hatton, who shot 67 and moved into a tie for 10th place.
“You’ve got to go out there and try and be a little more aggressive,” Hatton said. “I got off to a really nice start (4 under through six) but sadly couldn’t keep momentum going, and I actually struggled with my swing from that point. Felt like I actually did well to grind out a 3 under in the end.”
Hatton began the week No. 19, eight shots off the lead. The native of England won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and was one of the hotter players before the shutdown for COVID-19. He finished inside the top 25 at both playoff events and qualified for the Tour Championship for the first time.
Comeback player of the week: Marc Leishman came to East Lake hardly in great playoff form. His opening-round 80 in last week’s BMW Championship began a slide that was precipitous all the way to Sunday. His 30-over total for the tournament was the highest 72-hole score in relation to par by a PGA Tour pro since Steve Bowditch shot 37 over at Doral in 2016.
But a new week and new life. You know what’s a whole lot better than shooting 80 in the first round a week ago? That’s shooting a 4-under 66 on Friday in the first round of the Tour Championship.
“You put that stuff behind you,” said Leishman, who has acknowledged he probably didn’t work enough on his game when golf shut down because of the pandemic.
“I had two choices, really, either quit or try and get better. So, I decided to try and get better and put the work in, which I’ve been doing the last month or so. It just hasn’t been paying off. But it paid off today,” he said.
Leishman entered the Tour Championship in 25th place based on FedEx Cup points. Refocused, he climbed into a tie for 10th by the end of the day Friday. The putter was particularly good to him – he finished third in the field Friday in strokes gained putting.
The people’s Champ: Cameron Champ made fine work of his first exposure to East Lake and the Tour Championship, shooting 68. It was a very popular 2 under locally, as First Tee of Atlanta product B.J. Little, a student at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit School, got to follow his favorite player Friday as one of the few fans on site.
“It was awesome. It was good to see him,” Champ said. “He was stoked about it. Him and his father, my dad, walked today. I’m sure they chatted it up and he had a great experience.”
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