Matt Jones reignites career at The Honda Classic

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He stopped short of calling himself a collector. But when Abraham Ancer actually thought about it, he admitted that he has about 60 putters at his home in San Antonio, Texas. “I have a ton of putters just because sometimes I go through phases of tinkering and trying other putters and making my gamer jealous, as I like to call that,” Ancer says. “So, I like to maybe see something different for maybe a week or so. “And then I go back to my gamer.” Ancer normally plays with an Odyssey No. 5 putter. But in that rather vast collection are a couple of counterbalanced putters that help him refine his rhythm and set-up when he needs to put that gamer in its place. Not all of the putters in his collection are the kind that Ancer, who won the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in August, might put into play on the PGA TOUR, though. Some are very special — “one of ones that you can’t find anywhere else,” he says. “And that’s the stuff that I kind of like.” There’s a replica of his gamer with an insert made of a Damascus metal that that you can only get in Japan, for example. And the ones that Joe Toulon, Callaway’s putter guru, made that are stamped with the logo of Ancer’s tequila company, Flecha Azul. “So, there’s a bunch of cool ones that maybe to the naked eye would be like just a normal putter, but it has something that a lot of people don’t know and it’s pretty cool to me,” Ancer says. Ancer keeps 10 or so of the putters leaning at the ready against the wall in his office while the others are housed in the closet. He says when people come to visit, the first thing they do is grab one of the putters and hit a few. “The ones that I actually practice with, or like to see, they’re in my office where the putting mat that I use is,” Ancer says. “So, whenever I’m not doing much, I just get on there and practice a little bit. … “But when I move to my next home, I want to do an actual display of all of my favorite ones, so people can see them and do not keep them just in a closet. I feel bad just having them in there.” Ancer also has golf bags and other meaningful clubs — besides all those putters — that he’s used during his career that he’d like to put on display. One set is the bag, irons and driver that he used when he turned pro in 2013 after earning a degree in multi-disciplinary studies from Oklahoma. Ancer also has the bag that he received when he played in the 2019 Presidents Cup – and the man who is currently ranked No. 4 in the International Team standings will likely add another one of those in 2022. Plus, Ancer is a two-time Olympian, so those bags are special, too. “So that stuff, that just means a lot to me,” Ancer says. “And clubs that I, along the way, have played and, and remembered I’ve hit good shots with or whatever it is. I like to keep the bag that I use and the clubs that I use at the time.” Ancer, who was born in McAllen, Texas, and has dual citizenship, says he probably has seven bags on display at his house in San Antonio. But there are others at his childhood home in Reynosa, Mexico – including his dad’s golf bag and the clubs he used when he first started playing golf. Ancer’s father, Abraham Sr., who died in 2014, was the one who introduced him to the game. He used to take his son to Club Campestre de Reynosa when Ancer was still in diapers, and the precocious youngster started hitting balls as soon as he could stand. “So (my dad’s clubs) definitely hold a lot of sentimental value and I definitely want to keep them forever,” Ancer says. Some of the clubs Ancer used when he was a kid are also safely stored away in Mexico, as well. “Those are some great memories,” he says. “I was tiny, but I grew up playing with way longer clubs than I needed to. I was never like fitted. So that’s why a lot of people that see me play now, I stand really far away from the ball because I just got used to that.”

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – It might be the U.S. Open but a couple of Englishmen looked right at home in the blustery conditions at Shinnecock Hills. While there was no rain to go with the high winds the pair grew up around, Ian Poulter and former U.S. Open champion Justin Rose certainly felt right at home in the morning wave. Poulter, who recently won at the Houston Open, put together a fighting 1-under 69 to be tied for the lead on the windswept course. Rose, the winner at the recent Fort Worth Invitational, showed poise on his way to a 1-over 71, positioning himself extremely nicely to repeat his efforts from 2013 at Merion. “I’m aware of the big picture of this tournament and I knew what today was all about,â€� Rose said after seeing plenty of other big stars put up huge numbers. “It was about hanging in there. If I’d a shot 72 or 73, it would be a good day’s work as well. Today is about eliminating a bad round, and I think it’s turned into a really positive startâ€� Rose hit a very impressive 13 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens in regulation despite the high winds gusts of up around 30 miles per hour. For Poulter it was a welcome change to his usual U.S. Open efforts. A more relaxed attitude was the catalyst. From his debut at Shinnecock in 2004 Poulter played 12 straight U.S. Opens through 2015 but his best finish was a tie for 12th back in 2006. “Through most of the U.S. Opens, I haven’t enjoyed very many, to be honest. They’re difficult. They’re hot. They’re stressful. Feels like you’re pulling teeth every single hole you play,â€� Poulter said. “This week, I’ve changed my mindset. I’m here to enjoy my golf this week, to play freely, to go out and just go play golf. If I hit it in the rough, I hit it in the rough. I’m going to try and make par the hard way and just don’t get too bogged down with it.â€� OBSERVATIONS PIERCY MAKES MOST OF ALTERNATE SPOT … Scott Piercy had to play 42 holes just to qualify for the U.S. Open. He was the first alternate out of the Memphis, Tennessee, qualifier, and wasn’t added to the field for Shinnecock Hills until Monday. He teamed with Billy Horschel to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April, but he was so frustrated with his game that he walked off four holes into Wednesday’s practice round. He called his wife and told her that he’d likely be back home in Las Vegas by Saturday. Now he’s in contention at the U.S. Open. Playing in the day’s first group, Piercy shot a 1-under 69 on a windy day where many of the world’s best players were simply struggling to break 80. How did Piercy prepare for the first round at Shinnecock Hills after cutting his last practice round short? “We went home and crushed some pizza,â€� said Piercy, who’s 34th in the FedExCup. He also watched videos of his swing on Instagram in search of a fix for his ball striking frustrations. He found an old drill that he used in Thursday’s pre-round warmup. He was unsure how well it would transition to the golf course, though. He called his opening tee shot “a little sketchyâ€� but he made three birdies and just two bogeys in Thursday’s trying conditions. Piercy was the runner-up at the U.S. Open at Oakmont two years ago, shooting 1 under par at another old-school USGA test. He also struggled with his swing in the days leading up to that U.S. Open but then had the best ball-striking week of his life, he said. GOOD ON YOU GREGORY … You could have forgiven England’s Scott Gregory if he had of walked straight off Shinnecock Hills and into the nearby Atlantic Ocean. But to the 23-year-old’s credit he fronted up to talk to media after becoming the first player to shoot in the 90s at the U.S. Open since Felix Casas shot 92 at Bethpage Black in 2002. After qualifying out of the English sectionals Gregory struggled to a 22-over 92. He had 10 bogeys, three double bogeys, and two triple bogeys on his card. REAL U.S. OPEN RETURNS … A year after Brooks Koepka won with a 16 under total at Erin Hills a traditional U.S. Open broke out at Shinnecock. Scores ranged from 1-under 69 to 22-over 92 in the morning wave and averaged more than 6 over. Read more about the troubles for the world’s best players here. NOTABLES BROOKS KOEPKA – The defending champion had it under par early before fading to a 5-over 75. His play was pretty solid short of a few three-putts. RORY McILROY – The Northern Irishman was certainly not immune to the tough conditions, shooting his worst ever U.S. Open score with a 10-over 80. PHIL MICKELSON – Lefty’s quest for his national Open is going to be very tough after an opening 7-over 77. JORDAN SPIETH – The 2015 U.S. Open champion and current Open champion battled to an 8-over 78. JASON DAY – One of the favorites leading into the tournament Day had his worst U.S. Open round in relation to par with a 9-over 79. PATRICK REED – The only man with a chance to win the grand slam opened with a relatively solid 3-over 73.    RICKIE FOWLER – Fowler ground out a 73 only slipping up twice, with a double bogey and a bogey.    QUOTABLES I’m in a good place mentally. And that definitely helps. I enjoy the fight. I enjoy the grind … Especially when you’re on the right side of the fight. When you get a bit cut up and bruised, it can change pretty quick.For me, it was kind of like, all right, calm the mind. Get this crap out of your head.The pin locations were on the greens, which was nice.

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