Abraham Ancer Claims First-Ever PGA Tour Title at FedEx St. Jude Invitational

Posted on August 9, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a special first for Abraham Ancer…

The 30-year-old Mexican American professional golfer has claimed the first PGA Tour victory of his career at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

Ancer outlasted third-round leader Harris English, who was at 20 under midway through the final round. Ancer, playing the 10th hole, was 5 strokes behind at TOC Southwind.

“I said to [my caddie]: ‘Harris is running away with it, I’ve got to make some birdies, I’ve got to make a move,'” Ancer said.

Ancer didn’t run off a string of birdies, but he played steady, bogey-free golf and won his first title — in his 121st start — beating Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns with a 6-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff.

“It was a dream come true to win on the PGA Tour,” Ancer said.

Ancer won the World Golf Championships event after Burns’ 5½-foot putt — on the same line as Ancer — lipped out.

“This is surreal,” said Ancer, the former University of Oklahoma player who was born in McAllen, Texas. “I felt I left so many shots out there on the back nine, but you never know.”

Ancer, who finished second at the Wells Fargo Championship in May, played more aggressively on the second extra trip down the par-4 18th.

“I went right at it and the shot played perfectly in my mind and it came out just how I pictured it,” he said.

English, the leader after each of the first three rounds, faltered on the back nine to give Ancer, Burns and Matsuyama a chance.

English made a double-bogey 5 at No.11 after hitting his tee shot in the water.

“I played good on the front nine and just kind of hit a road bump on 11,” he said. “I got the wind [reading] wrong and it kind of went downhill from there.”

Ancer closed with a 2-under 68 to match Matsuyama and Burns at 16-under 264. Matsuyama shot a 63, and Burns had a 64. English, the 2013 champion at TPC Southwind, was a stroke back after a 73.

On the first extra hole, Ancer, Burns and Matsuyama, coming off a bronze-medal playoff loss at the 2020 Tokyo Games, made decent runs at birdies. Matsuyama had the shortest attempt — from 20 feet — and it nearly went in the cup before lipping out.

“It’s tough to lose in a playoff,” Matsuyama said. “but I wasn’t able to hit the fairway with either tee shot [in the playoff]. I did my best.

English was seeking the fifth title of his career — and third this season — but collapsed on the back nine. Ahead by 2 strokes at 20 under at the turn, he played the back nine in 5 over. He missed a 13-foot birdie putt on 18.

Ancer made only one birdie on the back nine.

“It was definitely a surprise to win,” Ancer said. “I couldn’t believe I was tied for the lead on [No. 16]. I thought I was 4 behind. But you never know in golf.”

Sergio Garcia Wins Sanderson Farms Championship, Ending Yearlong PGA Tour Title Drought

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Sergio Garcia is flying high like a bird(ie)…

The 40-year-old Spanish professional golfer, who’d gone a little more than a year without a victory, has won the Sanderson Farms Championship with an 8-iron to 30 inches for birdie on the final hole.

“The perfect ending for an amazing week,” Garcia said.

Garcia, who’d failed to make the FedEx Cup playoffs and fell out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 2011, hit a 5-wood that barely cleared a bunker and set up an eagle putt from just inside 4 feet to tie for the lead, before hitting the birdie for the win.

Peter Malnati, whose lone PGA Tour victory was at the Country Club of Jackson five years ago, rallied from five shots behind with a career-best 63, punctuated by a 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole.

That set the target, and Garcia needed his two big shots to catch and then beat him. The 5-wood from 260 yards on the 14th hole hit the top collar of the bunker, hopped onto the fringe and rolled out close to the hole.

But it was the 482-yard closing hole into the wind that made him proud.

“I stood up on 18 and I did what I’ve been doing all week. I trusted myself,” Garcia said. “I aimed down the right side of the fairway and just hit a hard draw — really, really nice drive — and it gave me the ability to have an 8-iron into the green instead of having a 6 or something like that.”

It was his first PGA Tour victory since he won the Masters in 2017 with a back-nine rally highlighted by an 8-iron that glanced off the pin on the 15th and set up eagle. He eventually beat Justin Rose in a playoff.

“This time it was an 8-iron on 18, and to almost hit the pain again and hit it close, it was a dream come true,” he said.

Garcia now has won at least once worldwide in each of his last 10 years, a streak he shares with Rose. He won for the 11th time on the PGA Tour, and the 31st time worldwide.

He finished at 19-under 269 and moves to No. 38 in the world.

Garcia heads for Las Vegas, with the Masters just over a month away.

“A boost of confidence, there’s no doubt,” Garcia said. “Every time you play well, even if I would have not won it, it still would have been a massive high for me this week. To be able to do a lot of the things that I did, it meant a lot. It showed me a lot of what I still have and what I still can do.”

Carlota Ciganda Wins $1 Million Aon Risk Reward Challenge Prize

Posted on November 21, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Carlota Cigandais the $1 million dollar woman…

The 29-year-old Spanish LPGA golfer has won the inaugural Aon Risk Reward Challenge and the $1 million prize.

The goal of the season-long competition was to illustrate how the world’s best golfers are among the world’s best strategic decision makers. The competition measured the performance of LPGA Tourand PGA Tourgolfers on a series of challenging holes across various tournaments. Players took their best two scores from each hole, with the winners having the best average score to par at the end of the regular season.

Ciganda was 37 under par for 44 challenge holes played, giving her a winning score of -0.841. Ariya Jutanugarn(-0.833) was second, followed by Lee-Anne Pace(-0.731), Brooke Henderson(-0.720) and In-Kyung Kim(-0.714).

For Ciganda, an eight-year player on the LPGA Tour, the end of the season provided her with the most crucial risk-reward situations. Although she was a leading contender from the start of the competition, it wasn’t until the end of the season, at the Buick LPGA Shanghai and the BMW Ladies Championship, where she stretched her lead with eagle-birdie scores on challenge holes.

“I played very consistent the whole year. I love being aggressive. I love taking the risk. I love that,” Ciganda said at the CME Group Tour Championship, the final tournament of the season. “That’s golf for me. That’s par-5 going on two, going for the green. That’s what I love the most.”

In August, PGA golfer Brooks Koepka won the inaugural trophy and the $1 million prize. Both Koepka and Ciganda were awarded equal payments for their accomplishments in the challenge, a rarity between the PGA and LPGA Tours, which differ greatly in prize money.

“It’s an unbelievable prize,” Ciganda said. “It’s really amazing finally to get recognized with the same amount of money. I’m the winner, but women’s golf is the winner today. The LPGA is the winner. We’re all winners.”

In 2019, LPGA players competed for a record $70.2 million in total prize money, up $7.2 million from 2016. This week, at the CME Group Tour Championship, the entire field will compete for the $5 million purse. And, the $1.5 million winner’s check will be the largest single prize in the history of women’s golf. (For context, Brooks Koepka won nearly $2 million after clinching the 2019 PGA Championshipat Bethpage Black. The total purse was $11 million.)

“We couldn’t be more proud of this outcome, and maybe most proud of the equal prize money across the LPGA and PGA Tour,” Andy Weitz, AonChief Marketing Officer, said. “It’s really great to see the level of consistency and high performance across both tours, and to see these players come out ahead at the end was incredibly exciting.”

Ciganda will compete at the final LPGA tournament of the 2019 season, the CME Group Tour Championship. Ciganda is currently ranked No. 14 in Women’s World Golf Rolex Rankings.

Jon Rahm Wins Spanish Open for Second Year in a Row

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Jon Rahm is making Spanish golf history…

The 24-year-old Spanish professional golfer won the Spanish Open for a second consecutive year on Sunday, beating Seve Ballesteros‘ record for the fastest Spaniard to reach five European Tour wins.

Golfing great Ballesteros needed 49 events to get five wins on the tour. Rahm did so in 39 tournaments after shooting a five-under 66 on the final round to finish 22 under and win by five strokes.

“In front of a home crowd, it’s always really hard for me to keep everything under control and to play the weekend that I did for them,” Rahm said.

“I can’t wait to come back next year and hopefully do it three times. It was unlike anything else. Spanish crowds love golf, they love us coming back. It’s hard to believe how many people come out here.”

Rafa Cabrera Bello (66) was second, followed by another Spaniard, Samuel del Val (68), who was seven strokes back at the Club de Campo Villa.

Starting with a commanding five-shot lead, Rahm had an eagle and four birdies to go with one bogey on the final day.

Rahm shot an eight-under 63 on Saturday to match the course record.

Sebastian Munoz Wins First PGA Tour Title at the Sanderson Farms Championship

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a hard-earned first for Sebastian Munoz…

The 26-year-old Colombian professional golfer made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff, and then beat Sungjae Im with a par on the first extra hole to win the Sanderson Farms Championship for his first PGA Tour victory.

Munoz, who closed with a 2-under 70, made it two straight weeks for South American winners, following Joaquin Niemann‘s victory last week at the Greenbrier.

“Jaco’s win gave me the belief I needed, the little extra belief I’m good enough, I’m here,” Munoz said.

Niemann won by 6 shots at the Greenbrier. Munoz had it far more difficult.

He was among four players in the mix over the back nine at the Country Club of Jackson, and it looked as though Im would snatch his first victory when he made a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 14th, got up and down from a bunker on the reachable 15th for birdie, and made it three straight birdies with a 12-foot putt on 16.

He closed with a 66, and that looked like it might be enough.

Byeong Hun An made consecutive bogeys to fall out of the mix. Carlos Ortiz couldn’t get a putt to fall.

Munoz lost two good scoring opportunities by hitting his drive well right of the fairway on the 14th, and then flubbing a lob shot left of the 15th green that went into the bunker, leading to bogey. Down to his last hole, he played it to perfection with a big drive, an approach to 15 feet below the hole and the most important putt of his young career.

The Bogota native, who played his college golf at the University of North Texas, poured in the birdie putt to join Im at 18-under 270.

“We just decided on a line, kept it as simple as can and just strike the putt,” Munoz said.

The playoff on the 18th hole wasn’t as clean.

Im went left into the Bermuda rough and caught a flier, sending the ball well over the green against the grandstand. Munoz was in the right rough and, expecting the ball to come out hot, he abbreviated his swing and it came out some 30 yards short. His chip-and-run rolled out to just under 4 feet. Im did well to pitch out of rough to just over 6 feet by the hole, but his par putt didn’t even touch the cup and he started walking soon after he hit it.

Munoz rolled in the par putt and the celebration was on.

“I’m speechless,” he said.

This is the first time since the tournament began in 1986 that it was not held the same week as another PGA Tour event with a stronger field. That means it gets full FedEx Cup points, and Munoz earned a spot in the Masters for the first time.

The playoff ended a streak of 38 consecutive PGA Tour events that were decided in regulation, dating to Charles Howell III winning in a playoff at Sea Island at the end of last year.

Tony Romo Leads After First-Round at the American Century Championship

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Tony Romo is one step closer to defending his turf…

The 39-year-old Mexican American former Dallas Cowboys quarterback-turned-NFL analyst birdied six of his final 11 holes to take the first-round lead Friday in the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

Romo, the defending champion, shot a 2-under 70 and scored 26 points in the celebrity tournament that uses the modified Stablefordscoring system.

Arizona Cardinalscornerback Patrick Peterson was two points back, and former Major League Baseball pitcher Derek Lowe was another point behind. Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltzwas fourth at 22, and actor Jack Wagner, a two-time winner in the event, had 21.

Romo, who has competed in two PGA Tour events this year, played the back nine in 5-under 31 after getting off to a slow start with two bogeys and a double-bogey on his first five holes.

“I think I had two points after five holes,” Romo said. “So from that point on, I got pretty hot.”

Charles Barkley, the former NBA star who has regularly finished last or second to last, birdied the second hole.

“Did he hit somebody and they threw it in the hole?” Romo joked.

Barkley was at minus-12 points, but he was ahead of 14 players in the 90-player field.

Jon Rahm Wins Hero World Challenge Title

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Jon Rahm is Hero…

The 24-year-old Spanish professional golferturned a potential shootout into a Bahamas breeze Sunday, closing with a 7-under 65 for a four-shot victory in the Hero World Challenge.

Starting the final round in a three-way tie with Tony Finau and Henrik Stenson, Rahm took the lead when Finau made bogey on the par-3 eighth hole, and the Spaniard never trailed the rest of the day at Albany Golf Club.

Finau was the last challenger until the 14th hole, when he went from a sandy area to a bunker and over the green, leading to double bogey. Rahm made birdie on the hole, and suddenly had a five-shot lead without much trouble to get in the way.

Rahm ends his year with three victories, just like in 2017, his first full year as a pro.

Even with his individual trophies, no moment for Rahm will top facing Tiger Woods in the Sunday singles at the Ryder Cup and beating him on the 17th hole, putting the first point on the board for Europe that day. And then Rahm ended his year with Woods handing him the trophy from his holiday event.

“That Sunday with Tiger is still the most emotionally, most important moment of my golf career,” Rahm said. “It means so much to play against Tiger. A couple months later, to win his event, it’s really special.”

Rahm previously won the CareerBuilder Challenge on the PGA Tour and the Spanish Open on the European Tour.

Guillermo del Toro Earns PGA Awards Nomination for “The Shape of Water”

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

The recognition for Guillermo del Toro’s latest monster-piece continues…

The Producers Guild of America has announced its film and television nominees for the 29th annual PGA Awards, with the 53-year Mexican filmmaker earning a nod for his critically acclaimed film The Shape of Water.

For the first time, a tie in the voting means 11 films are vying for the marquee Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, rather than the usual 10.

In addition to del Toro’s The Shape of Water, the nominees include The Big Sick, Call Me by Your Name, Dunkirk, Get Out, I, Tonya, Lady Bird, Molly’s Game, The Post, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Wonder Woman.

The PGA Awards will be handed out on January 20 at the Beverly Hilton.

Here are the nominees for the 29th annual PGA Awards, co-chaired Donald De Line and Amy Pascal:

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

The Big Sick  Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel
Call Me By Your Name  Producers: Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Marco Morabito
Dunkirk Producers: Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
Get Out Producers: Sean McKittrick & Edward H. Hamm, Jr., Jason Blum, Jordan Peele
I, Tonya  Producers: Bryan Unkeless, Steven Rogers, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley
Lady Bird Producers: Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Evelyn O’Neill
Molly’s Game Producers: Mark Gordon, Amy Pascal, Matt Jackson
The Post  Producers: Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger
The Shape Of Water  Producers: Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri  Producers: Graham Broadbent & Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh
Wonder Woman  Producers: Charles Roven & Richard Suckle, Zack Snyder & Deborah Snyder

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

The Boss Baby  Producer: Ramsey Naito
Coco  Producer: Darla K. Anderson
Despicable Me 3  Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy
Ferdinand  Producers: Lori Forte, Bruce Anderson
The Lego Batman Movie  Producers: Dan Lin, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures:
Chasing Coral  Producers: Jeff Orlowski, Larissa Rhodes
City of Ghosts  Producer: Matthew Heineman
Cries from Syria  Producers: Evgeny Afineevsky, Den Tolmor, Aaron I. Butler
Earth: One Amazing Day  Producer: Stephen McDonogh
Jane (This film is still in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility this year.)
Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower  (This film is still in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility this year.)
The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee  Producers: Teddy Kunhardt, George Kunhardt

The producers of the programs in the following six categories are in the process of being vetted for awards eligibility this year, and the winners will be recognized at the official ceremony on January 20.

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:

Big Little Lies (Season 1)
The Crown (Season 2)
Game of Thrones (Season 7)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Season 1)
Stranger Things (Season 2)

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:

Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 9)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 1)
Master of None (Season 2)
Silicon Valley (Season 4)
Veep (Season 6)

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and limited series.

Black Mirror (Season 4)
Fargo (Season 3)
FEUD: Bette and Joan (Season 1)
Sherlock: The Lying Detective
The Wizard of Lies

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:

30 for 30 (Season 8)
60 Minutes (Season 50)
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (Season 9, Season 10)
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (Season 1, Season 2)
Spielberg

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (Season 2)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (Season 15)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Season 4)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Season 3)
Saturday Night Live (Season 43)

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:

The Amazing Race (Season 29)
American Ninja Warrior (Season 9)
Lip Sync Battle (Season 3)
Top Chef (Season 14)
The Voice (Season 12, Season 13)

The Award for Outstanding Short-Form Program:

Better Call Saul’s Los Pollos Hermanos Employee Training (Season 1)
Carpool Karaoke (Season 1)
Humans of New York: The Series (Season 1)
National Endowment for the Arts: United States of Arts (Season 3)
Viceland at the Women’s March (Season 1)

The Award for Outstanding Sports Program:

All or Nothing: A Season with the Los Angeles Rams (Season 2)
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Season 12)
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (Season 23)
SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt (Season 3)
VICE World of Sports (Season 2)

The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program:

Doc McStuffins (Season 4)
Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2017
School of Rock (Season 3)
Sesame Street (Season 47)
SpongeBob SquarePants (Season 10, Season 11)

Garcia & Justin Rose Top Leaderboard with One Final Round to Go at The Masters

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Sergio Garcia is one day away from snapping his title drought at a major tournament…

The world will be watching Sunday at Augusta National as the 37-year-old Spaniard tries to fend off Masters co-leader Justin Rose, chasers Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth and his own demons to end his 0-for-73 streak in golf’s four most coveted events.

It seems like a century ago that Garcia burst onto the scene as a 19-year-old, battling Tiger Woods shot for shot at the PGA Championship only to fall a stroke short.

He’s had other opportunities at the Masters, the Open Championship, the PGA and U.S. Open. Garcia has finished second in majors four times, placed in the top 10 22 times.

After coming up short in the 2012 Masters, Garcia famously told Spanish reporters he wasn’t good enough to win a major.

He gets the chance to erase his own words on the National’s hallowed grounds in a final round that will certainly not be a day of rest. He and Rose go off in the final group at 2:45 p.m. EDT.

“It was hard but it was fun.” Garcia said Saturday after posting a 2-under-par 70 for a 210 total. “It was fun to play well again, to go through a Saturday at the Masters with a chance at winning, and, you know, to be up there going into tomorrow.”

Garcia looks fit for a green jacket, shaping shots and escaping trouble. He made four birdies and played the back nine two shots under par to set the stage. He and Rose are the only players in the Masters field not to shoot a round over par through 54 holes.

The seemingly star-crossed Garcia even got some fortuitous bounces in Round 3, most notably on the 510-yard, par-5 13th hole. His approach shot wafted weakly over a Rae’s Creek tributary, slid down the hill and miraculously stopped short of the drink. He chipped off the steep bank within a foot, tapped in for birdie and again stands on the brink of a major breakthrough.

“I’ve definitely had some good breaks throughout all three rounds,” Garcia said. “Thirteen was obviously was one of them. I didn’t feel like I hit a bad shot. Obviously I hit a good drive that went into that little first cut of rough, and unfortunately ‑‑ I was hitting plenty of club, but it was one of those things that the ball just came out really soft. I had enough club to carry on that line, and unfortunately it didn’t.

“But fortunately for me, that bank seems to be a tiny bit longer this year, which is nice. Because, you know, it gives you the possibility of getting a break like that, and then, you know, I still had to hit a great chip to make 4. It wasn’t an easy chip.“

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