Ko wins Founders Cup, ties Sorenstam record

HONOLULU — Abraham Ancer can’t remember playing better with so little to show for it. His hope is the payoff is not far away. RELATED: Players rally to Australian bushfire relief cause | Players to Watch in 2020: Abraham Ancer | The First Look  Ancer arrived for the Sony Open in Hawaii with his confidence still brimming from a solid debut in the Presidents Cup last month in Australia. He was among seven rookies on the International team. That didn’t keep Adam Scott from saying on the eve of the matches he would be shocked if the 28-year-old Mexican wasn’t “a big point winner for us.� Ancer delivered by going unbeaten in four teams matches. And when the pressure was even greater — singles against Tiger Woods, with social media driving a plot that Ancer wanted a piece of him — Ancer held his own until Woods outlasted him in 16 holes to start a U.S. comeback. “A lot of good stuff came out of the Presidents Cup,� Ancer said. “Just playing a lot of golf under a lot of pressure. I like to put myself in those situations. I become a better player when I put myself in those situations, and moving forward, I feel like I will be a little calmer in situations where I would be normally stressed out.� He felt like every shot mattered, not just for him but for the team. Now he’s back on his own, playing against a 144-man field at windy Waialae Country Club, not nearly as many fans watching from along the ropes or in front of the TV. He is among 15 of the top 50 in the world ranking, led by Justin Thomas, who won the Sentry Tournament of Champions last week at Kapalua and has won three of his last six starts on the PGA TOUR. Ancer is still looking for his first PGA TOUR victory. He won late in 2018 at the Australian Open, which earned him a spot in the Open Championship. He did well enough last year, particularly his runner-up finish to Patrick Reed at THE NORTHERN TRUST, to make it the TOUR Championship and earn a spot in the Masters for the first time. “It just shows me what I need to get better at, how you feel under pressure,� Ancer said of his 3-1-1 mark at Royal Melbourne. “I can take that and look back when I’m in a situation like that, maybe playing in the last round for a chance to win. I’ll draw back and remember how I felt that day.� A great week for him ended awkwardly because of his match against Woods. Ancer was asked a month before the Presidents Cup who he wanted to play, and he mentioned Woods, the greatest of his generation and an idol for most players on both teams in Melbourne. It was portrayed as poking Tiger, with his quote posted on social media accounts as a reminder. Woods played well, and the match turned on the 14th hole when Woods made an 8-foot par putt and Ancer missed his par from about 6 feet. Woods went 2 up and closed him out with a birdie on the 16th. “Abe wanted it. He got it,� Woods said during the winner’s press conference. Ancer didn’t want the loss or the narrative to ruin an otherwise good week. “I tried not to let it get to me,� Ancer said. “That was actually a month before in Mayakoba when I got asked this question. I was like, ’Well out of the 12 guys who would I like to play on a big stage in a big event like that? Yeah, obviously I would like to play my hero growing up, Tiger Woods. It would be an incredible experience.� And it was, on and off the course. “I didn’t only learn from the golf course and from golf, I learned a lot about the media and how it can get twisted,� he said. “Definitely got twisted, just the context how I said things. And maybe Tiger didn’t know the way I said it. He just kind of took it from what he was reading or what he heard, which is fine. “Maybe it was a little bit of a downer because people didn’t know I said it,� Ancer said. “Some guy reached out to me and said, ‘You were really, really cocky.’ I was like, ‘What?’ I was thrown off by some of the comments.� Ancer faces a big year, his first playing in all four majors, and he virtually is a lock to represent Mexico in the Olympics. For now, golf is back to the individual sport it normally is. Six of his teammates from the Presidents Cup are at the Sony Open in Hawaii, including Marc Leishman, with whom Ancer won a match and halved another. Matt Kuchar is the defending champion. Thomas will try to sweep the Hawaii swing for the second time in three years.

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Coming off back fusion surgery, Tiger understandably is hesitant to commit to back-to-back events. But wouldn’t it be fun if the 14-time major champion decided to show up everywhere? Jason Sobel maps out a wild year.

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What better way to impress the Presidents Cup captain than by beating him? That’s what Gary Woodland will try to do at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. Woodland is Tiger Woods’ closest pursuer at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. Woods leads by two after shooting 64-64. Woodland (64-66) is two back. RELATED: Tiger holds two-shot lead | Home favorite Matsuyama contending | Monday finish determined for ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP They’ll play the next 36 holes together at this weather-delayed event. Players will not be re-paired for the final round at this weather-delayed event. The third round will be completed Sunday morning, and players will compete until darkness before finishing the tournament Monday morning. Woodland made just one bogey in the second round, on his third hole of the day. He closed his front nine with three consecutive birdies before making a lone birdie on his back nine. “It was a grind all day,â€� Woodland said. “I didn’t have my best stuff today. … I had some opportunities to post a pretty good number, but all in all, I’m happy to not have my best stuff and shoot 4 under.â€� Keegan Bradley, who shot a tournament-low 63 in the second round, will join them in the final group. Woodland, the reigning U.S. Open champion, narrowly missed making the U.S. Presidents Cup team. Success in Asia is nothing new to him. He’s coming off a third-place finish at last week’s THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES. He was runner-up in that event last year, and was a two-time runner-up in the CIMB Classic in Malaysia. “I played great on the weekend last week in Korea and played great the first round, so it gives me a lot of confidence to not play great today and still hang in there,â€� Woodland said. “That’s a huge deal because 36 holes more to go and hopefully I come out with my A‑game and play well.â€�

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