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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Abraham Ancer of Mexico won the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational on Sunday for his first PGA TOUR title, beating Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns with a 6-foot birdie on the second hole of the playoffs.
Ancer won the WGC event at TPC Southland after Burns’ 5 1/2 foot putt – on the same line as Ancer – lost.
“It’s surreal,” said Ancer, the 30-year-old University of Oklahoma player who was born in McAllen, Texas. “I felt like I had left so many hits out there on the last nine, but you never know.”
Ancer, who finished second at the Wells Fargo Championship in May, played more aggressively on the second extra trip on the 18th par-4.
“I got right to the point and the shot worked perfectly in my mind and it came out exactly as I imagined it would,” he said.
Harris English, the leader after each of the first three laps, wavered over the last nine to give Ancer, Burns and Matsuyama a chance.
Ancer finished with a 68 under 2 to tie Matsuyama and Burns at 264 under 16. Matsuyama shot a 63 and Burns a 64. English, the 2013 TPC Southwind champion, was a comeback after a 73.
On the first extra hole, Ancer, Burns and Matsuyama, after a bronze medal playoff loss at the Tokyo Olympics, had decent birdie runs. Matsuyama had the shortest attempt – 20 feet – and he almost went into the cup before exiting.
English were chasing their fifth career title – and third this season – but collapsed on the last nine. Ahead of two 20-pennies on the turn, he played back nine in 5 over, missing a birdie putt 13-by-18.
Bryson DeChambeau, two strokes behind the Englishman after a third round 63, had a 74 tied for eighth place at 12 under.
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