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DELL TECHNOLOGIES CHAMPIONSHIP

September 2, 2018

Abraham Ancer

Boston, Massachusetts

NICK PARKER: I'd like to welcome Abraham Ancer to the pressroom. 54-hole lead heading into tomorrow. What's going on in your head?

ABRAHAM ANCER: It's been fun. It's been a fun week. I hit the ball real good today, especially. Got the putter rolling on the front nine. Not so much on the back nine, but still hit the ball really well. There was a good stretch of holes out there on the back nine that you have to hit it really, really good. And I managed to do that.

I'm very happy. Left a little bit there with the par on 18. I hit a really good shot there on my third shot and I think maybe I pulled it or gave it too much break. So I really wanted to birdie there. But other than that, I mean, it was really a good day.

Q. There's a lot going on this week, and everyone has been reminding you there's a lot going on this week, but you kept your head in the game. Where did you learn that from?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Just drawing back from experiences, really. I had a solid year this year. And I had some instances where I've been obviously paired with some really good players that have been doing this for a long time. And so I've learned from them and just learned from my mistakes of what I've done before and just kept going. There was a couple of instances today that I could have lost it mentally but I didn't. I regrouped and managed to bounce back.

Q. Where did you almost lose it?
ABRAHAM ANCER: On 12. It's a long par-4. The first day I hit driver and it went through the fairway and I knew I was dead. And then yesterday 3-wood was fine. Today it was into the wind. And me and my caddie were discussing what we were going to do. There's a bunker there, I didn't even look at it, I didn't think it was in play and I missed it a little bit. I hit it a little thin and hit it on the lip. And I was dead, right. And I made bogey, which is not bad. It's still a tough hole. But just got me a little frustrated knowing it was driver into the wind. If I would have hit that 3-wood, fine, it would have carried the bunker, I would have had a longer shot in. But I could have lost it or maybe other people would have carried that over a little bit longer, and I tried to let it go as quick as I could.

Q. Has your position on the points list allowed you to just sort of free up and go hard or go home, so to speak?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, I knew I had to play good this week, if not I was going to go home and relax. Either way is not a bad option. Obviously I want to keep on playing next week and obviously in Atlanta. But, yeah, I knew I had to play good golf in order for me to play next week. But I don't try to put much pressure, more than I already have. So I just have to play good. But I just go about my game plan and that's it.

Q. How do you feel you will be thinking tomorrow, having the lead going into the tournament, will you be nervous? You've got guys on your heels that have won a few tournaments that you haven't won. How do you think you'll feel tomorrow?
ABRAHAM ANCER: I was in that position earlier this year, at Quicken Loans, and I'm just going to be drawing on that and learning from that round. I'll probably go back today and just think about how I felt that day and what I could have done better. But other than that I'll just treat it like any other day. Just play some golf and stick to my game plan and that's it.

Q. For some of the more casual fans who might not know who you are out here, how would you describe yourself, your personality, how you got here?
ABRAHAM ANCER: I'm pretty relaxed. I love food. I grew up in Mexico. I don't know, really how I would describe myself. Just very easy going guy. I just love being out here. I love playing golf. I love what I do. I love traveling, meeting new people, playing some awesome golf courses like we do. I think I'm pretty lucky. That's it. Pretty easy going guy, I think.

Q. As someone holding dual citizenship, did you have people from the United States trying to lure you to our side?
A. No, I mean I was born in the States, obviously. All my life I grew up in Mexico until I was 15. And all my family is from there. So, yeah, a lot of people ask me, hey, why do you play for Mexico, you were born -- that's all I knew, I grew up over there. All my family is from there. Obviously immigration-wise it's kind of nice having dual citizenship, it makes everything easier. All my friends know me, and they know I'm very Mexican.

Q. What does that mean? What does that entail?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Well, I don't know, just the culture, I guess. But other than that, pretty similar.

Q. After starting this week just trying to earn a spot at the BMW, do the playoff implications make it more or less difficult when you're trying to focus on the task at hand tomorrow, just trying to get the win?
ABRAHAM ANCER: I don't know, I don't think I even look at that. I just know obviously to win I've got to play good. 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. Just thinking about that. Just trying to enjoy my round out there.

Q. You talked about game plan. You have game plan, you stick to it. The bunker that you were not aware about it will it change or update your game plan?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, I mean that was only on one hole. If it's into the wind tomorrow I'm going to hit driver there. I'm not hitting 3-wood.

Q. Just another question, you said you paired with very good players and you learned from them. Can you maybe tell what did you learn?
ABRAHAM ANCER: I played, let's see, I played with Francesco Molinari at the Quicken Loans. Obviously he's had an amazing year. Looked like he finished first or second in every tournament he's played. Great guy. And just how calm he was and what a great round he played in really a big time golf course. It was not easy. He shot 8-under like nothing. So it was fun. I did, the day before, which was nice, but then looking at how he was doing I was like, man, I mean I'm playing pretty decent, I'm losing by five or -- I don't know, I was losing by more than that. Yeah, just kind of drawing on that and learning a little bit from him and other players that I've played with.

I'm just trying to be like a sponge this year and learn as much as I can. Hopefully I have a long career coming up out here and I'll be doing the same thing throughout my career. You never stop learning.

Q. I seem to remember some Middle East heritage in your family somewhere?
ABRAHAM ANCER: My last name is Syrian, Ancer, but that was probably, I don't know, 200 years ago. But I have no idea. I never went out there, never been out there. But that's where my last name comes from.

Q. When you look at your first year on Tour and making only five or six cuts going back to the Web, in your mind what did you do to get better to the position you are now, not today, but this year in general?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, that year it was brutal. I played terrible, really. But I kept really positive, my frame, and I really learned -- that year I just tried to change things to get better and didn't stick to what got me to the PGA Tour.

Q. Because you were supposed to be better because you're on the Tour now?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Right. You get to the PGA Tour you think you need to improve, you need to get better. And that's where I kind of fell and just -- I changed equipment. I changed -- it was crazy. So I learned from that.

And then I implemented it on the Web last year and played great. Just played a solid, solid year. Didn't win a tournament but I think I finished like third on the money list, which was awesome and just kept doing the same thing, didn't change anything from last year to what I'm doing this year and it's been paying off.

Q. Could you just explain what a win or potentially a trip to East Lake would mean to you in your game going forward?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Well, I'd be obviously -- my goal that I've always dreamt about winning a PGA Tour event. Playing this sport since I can really remember, since I'm three or four years old. So it would be obviously a dream come true. I know I have a chance or I've been having chances this year. But it will obviously mean the world to me and obviously for Mexico, too, because Mexico haven't had a player win since, I don't know, 40 years ago or something like that. So it would be very special.

Q. I watched an interview you did on line from a few years ago when you were up and coming and you said you might be nervous playing with a guy like Tiger Woods. What would a win tomorrow mean knowing he's in the same tournament?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, that would be in credit ill. And I've actually -- I haven't been paired with him this year. I've played right in front of him, right behind him, and it's crazy. Tournaments just really change when he's around. And winning a tournament and having him in the field will be awesome, yeah.

Q. You had said it would be a big deal if you were to win for your country. Can you give us some idea of how it will play in the papers and in the news if you were to win and get to The TOUR Championship? And also because of having the World Golf Championships event in Mexico City now, are you already seeing how that is helping golf in your country?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, having the tournament in Mayakoba on the PGA Tour and having a WGC event in Mexico City I think has impacted Mexico or golf in Mexico incredibly. A lot of people know about it now, because not a lot of people really pay attention to golf in Mexico or I guess the mass. And try to get more -- be more affordable for having public golf courses would be awesome. I think there's some movements going forward of that. The First Tee started in Mexico not too long ago. You're seeing this trend making golf a bigger sport in Mexico and having this event has tremendously helped that, obviously. And if I win soon or whenever that happens, if it happens, it will be awesome for Mexico. I think it will even push it a little bit more and make it just a well-known sport over there.

Q. If golf was not big, what made you take it up at three?
ABRAHAM ANCER: My dad. He took me to the golf course with him and that's it, really. I picked it up there and that's how I fell in love with the game. But where I grew up there was not a ton of members. There's a golf course that is outside of the city and we were, I don't know, maybe 15 kids of all ages just playing there. And that's where it started. But you don't see public golf courses where you just have a ton of kids just go by. So hopefully in the future it will be like that over there, too.

Q. Did you meet Lorena or you heard about her in the paper?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, obviously -- I don't think I've met her. I think we've been in the same golf course once or twice but we never had the chance to talk. But, yeah, she's obviously an inspiration for a lot of boys and girls, really, all of Mexico. And I think she's who started this kind of trend of keeping -- moving golf forward in Mexico. She did a tremendous job, great ambassador for the sport over there. She obviously retired being World No. 1, which is incredible. Obviously you can't beat that. But, yeah, just trying to follow her footsteps.

Q. Were you tied with Frankie at one point at the Quicken on the front nine?
ABRAHAM ANCER: No, I actually started with a bogey on hole 1 and just couldn't -- didn't make any putts. Hit the ball okay. But, no, then after that I think he made one or two birdies and then once he got to hole 10 it was game over. He made everything.

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