Anser "Surprise Victory in Star Match"... Kim Siwoo "What Happened at the 11th Hole?"

WGC Series FedEx St. Jude Invitational Final Day Second Extra Hole Winning Birdie, 'Masters Champ' Matsuyama Defeated

Abraham Ancer is cheering while holding the trophy immediately after winning the WGC Series FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Memphis, USA=Photo by Getty Images/MultiBits

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] "Winning birdie in the playoff."

Abraham Ancer (Mexico) secured his first victory on the PGA Tour. On the 9th (Korean time) at Southwind Golf Club in Memphis, Tennessee (par 70, 7,233 yards), during the final day of the World Golf Championships (WGC) FedEx St. Jude Invitational (total prize money $10.5 million), Ancer added 2-under par to tie with 'Masters Champion' Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) and Sam Burns (USA) at 16-under par 264. Then, on the second hole of the resumed playoff at the 18th hole (par 4), he sank a crucial 1.5-meter birdie putt.

The 30-year-old Ancer is the leading figure in Mexican golf. After progressing through the Web.com Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour) in 2015, he joined the PGA Tour in 2016 and claimed his first win in his 121st start, and that too at a prestigious WGC event. The winner's prize was a whopping $1.82 million (2.1 billion KRW). Previously, he had four runner-up finishes that frustrated him, including the 2019 Northern Trust Playoffs first leg, last March’s The American Express, June’s RBC Heritage, and May’s Wells Fargo Championship.

Ancer started the day in 4th place, four strokes behind the leader, and carded three birdies and one bogey. Notably, he made back-to-back birdies on holes 2 and 3, and his only bogey on the 6th hole (par 4) was recovered with a birdie on the 13th hole (par 4). He parred the first playoff hole and made the precious birdie on the second. Burns was unlucky to miss a shorter putt. Matsuyama surged into the playoff with a 7-under par daily best but finished tied for 2nd.

It was surprising that Harris English, who led for three days, faltered with a 3-over par. His tee shots on two par-3 holes, the 11th and 13th, found water, resulting in consecutive double bogeys that halted his momentum. He finished 4th at 15-under par 265. 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau also struggled with a 4-over par round. Particularly on the 11th hole, a tee shot error led to a triple bogey, dropping him to a tie for 8th at 12-under par 268. Locally, DeChambeau’s slow play controversy surfaced.

Siwoo Kim suffered the humiliation of a "10-over-par decuple bogey" after his tee shot landed in the water five times on the 11th hole during the final day of the FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

World No. 2 Dustin Johnson (USA) tied for 10th at 11-under par 269, defending champion Justin Thomas tied for 26th at 5-under par 275, and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele (USA) tied for 46th at even par 280. From Korea, Im Sung-jae (23) joined the tie for 46th, while Lee Kyoung-hoon (30) remained tied for 54th at 2-over par 282. Kim Si-woo finished 65th at 13-over par 293, suffering the humiliation of a decuple bogey after his tee shot landed in the water five times on the 11th hole (par 3).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.