Ancer leads, but it’s tight at TPC Boston
Woods lurks, six shots behind; DeChambeau goes low with a 63
NORTON, Mass. — Abraham Ancer of Mexico learned the hard way that a game that got him to the PGA Tour was good enough to win.
A Labor Day finish on the TPC Boston will be his biggest test.
Ancer opened with three straight birdies, had a birdie chance on all but one hole and shot a 6-under 65 that gave him a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Dell Technologies Championship that could change his career.
He showed up at the second FedEx Cup playoff event at No. 92 in the standings, hopeful of getting into the top 70 to keep his season going. A victory would send him to East Lake for the Tour Championship and give him a spot in all four majors.
But one look at the leaderboard is enough to suggest that 18 holes is a long way off.
Right behind is a player who had the lowest score before the largest gallery at the TPC Boston. That would be Bryson DeChambeau, who played with Tiger Woods for the first time in competition and delivered a 63 to get within one shot of the lead.
Tyrrell Hatton had a shot bounce off a cart and into the woods, never to be found, leading to double bogey. He still managed a 69 and joined DeChambeau one off the lead. They were among 10 players within four shots of the lead, a group that includes major champions Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.
“I just know to win I’ve got to play good,” Ancer said. “There’s no way if you play sloppy you’re going to win out here. So I know I have to put up a good score out there tomorrow. And I know if I follow my game plan and make some putts, that could happen.” He was at 13-under 200. Woods had to settle for a 69 that left him in a tie for 16th, six shots behind. At least he saw plenty of good golf. DeChambeau has become one of his regular practice partners, though they had never been in the same group until Sunday.
DeChambeau opened with two birdies and finished even stronger,
with short birdie putts on the 16th and 17th, and then a 5-iron from 237 yards that stopped rolling 2 feet from the hole for an eagle.
“He’s my childhood idol,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve admired him my whole entire life. And to be finally able to play with him under tournament conditions, it was different. I was a little nervous, for sure. But I was able to get out there and execute shots and worry about my game and focus on hitting the best shots possible. And I was able to play really well like that.”
CHAMPIONS: Scott McCarron had a one-hop ace on the par-3 14th and closed with a birdie to successfully defend his Shaw Charity Classic title in Calgary, Alberta.
McCarron shot a 7-under 63 for a one-stroke victory over Scott Parel, Joe Durant and Kirk Triplett at Canyon Meadows. The 53-year-old McCarron has seven PGA Tour Champions victories, also winning in Madison, Wis., in June, after winning three times on the PGA Tour. McCarron finished at 15-under 195.
WEB.COM TOUR FINALS: Kramer Hickok completed a wire-to-wire victory in the DAP Championship, beating Hunter Mahan and Matt Jones by three strokes in the second of four Web.com Tour Finals events at Beechwood, Ohio.
Playing to improve his PGA Tour status after earning one of 25 cards from the Web.com Tour’s regularseason money list, Hickok shot his second straight 2-under 68 to finish at 14-under 266. He matched the Canterbury Golf Club record Thursday with a 63 and had a 67 on Friday.
PGA Tour star Jordan Spieth’s former teammate and housemate, Hickok earned $180,000 for his first tour victory to push his season total to $373,635. He has jumped from 23rd to second among the 25 regular-season qualifiers in the first two tournaments, earning a series-best $198,000. The 26-year-old former University of Texas player was the Canadian tour player of the year last season, winning twice.
LPGA: Marina Alex rallied to win the Cambia Portland Classic for her first LPGA Tour title, closing with a 7-under 65 for a four-stroke victory over Georgia Hall in Portland, Ore.
Alex birdied the final five holes in a front-nine 30 to take the lead and added birdies on the par-5 12th and par-4 15th at tree-lined Columbia Edgewater. She made her only bogey of the day on the par-4 18th, leaving her at 19-under 269.