PGA Championship Wednesday, May 19, 2021 Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Abraham Ancer Press Conference precision with your irons and your short game, how it's going to play out here? THE MODERATOR: Welcome back to the 2021 PGA Championship here at the Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, obviously that's going to be South Carolina. We are pleased to be joined by Abraham very important. Obviously, you've got to be in the fairway Ancer, currently Official World Golf Ranking No. 19, which first because this is a very long golf course, and out of this is a great thing to see. rough, it's going to be very tough.

Welcome to your third PGA Championship. Seems like But if you have -- there's probably going to be a couple you're playing the best golf of your life right now. Is that days that you don't strike it as well as you'd like, and you the case? Are you feeling pretty good, feeling frisky out just have to get it up-and-down here. It doesn't matter if there? Why are you playing so well? you're actually hitting it well, you can still miss a lot of greens because of the wind, and the target is really small. ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, I feel good. I've been playing You have to be really good with your short game, really some solid golf. Nothing crazy, just steady golf, keeping sharp, some tight lies. the ball in play and hitting a lot of greens, and whenever the putter gets hot, it's usually a decent or a good But the grass is awesome. I think it's really cool to chip, tournament. and you can hit very different golf shots, not just chop it out of the rough. You get some runoffs that you can hit But yeah, I haven't really changed anything, just I'm doing bump-and-runs or you can fly it all the way to the hole with what I've been doing for the last couple years, just trying to some spin or even hit like a 7-wood or 5-wood, roll it up. get better at how I play golf. So there's a lot of options, which I really like that.

Q. With the majors, you make every cut, or most of I think it's really cool having waste bunkers that you can them. It's like you feel good in this kind of pressure, have some brutal lies or some good ones, also a little bit of this kind of situation? luck in there. It's just a raw golf course, and I really enjoy that. ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, I enjoy obviously big-time events with a lot of pressure, the best players in the world, Q. Every couple of years at the PGA Championship and the golf courses are usually very difficult, which I enjoy there's a lot of talk about the Ryder Cup. I don't know a good test of golf. I enjoy when you have to be very if you're familiar with the story of Lee Trevino in the accurate off the tee and on to the greens, and small targets Ryder Cup. He played six times, he was a captain. like this week. Have you followed that, and what do you know about that? This week is a big-time golf course. It's long and it's windy, and you have to be extremely accurate, which I like that. I ABRAHAM ANCER: Well, I'm so bad with history. I grew like this way more than just wide open golf courses and big up obviously watching golf but mainly just playing, and I greens where you can just hit it everywhere. was always out there. I didn't really watch that much or learn that much about history. I'm definitely the wrong guy But yeah, I enjoy the tournaments that have a big stage. I for history in golf, that's for sure. like feeling that pressure, and I feel like I've been able to channel it in a really good way to help me instead of hurt Q. The only thing for Trevino is as you keep climbing me. in the World Rankings, and you are a dual citizen. Would you ever consider being a contender in the Q. Can you explain a little bit, your strong points are Ryder Cup?

107543-2-1002 2021-05-19 13:44:00 GMT Page 1 of 3 make it out here. We can get to the biggest level and play ABRAHAM ANCER: No. I mean, everybody knows me, against the best in the world. Hopefully me and Carlos are that I represent Mexico. That's where I grew up. That's doing the same thing for a lot of kids. But definitely where I learned the game. That's my culture, my family. Mexican golf is growing. Yeah, I mean, it would feel weird to me even if I happened to qualify somehow -- I wouldn't do it, no. The First Tee is something that we didn't have two, three years ago, and now we have like nine, ten chapters, so Q. I'm curious, you're playing so well right now. Are that's huge, somewhere that kids can just go out and just there things in your golf swing that you monitor on a explore the game. Not only that but also values and stuff week-in-week-out or are you basically not thinking like that, which I think is a great thing that, like I said, we about your golf swing right now? didn't have three years ago. So having that, it's really cool and it's really helping. ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, nothing about my golf swing at all. I haven't hit that many balls. If I feel like I'm striking it Also having PGA TOUR events and these past years well I'm really just warming up to go and play, and I'd rather having WGC really put the sport on TV because it was just get my work done out there on the golf course, making something that just Mexicans wouldn't watch. It was just all sure how I can attack the golf course that week. about soccer and baseball and boxing, and that's about it.

I focus more on short game and putting and chipping. Q. Safe to assume you've met Lorena? That's something that I definitely monitor quite a bit with my putting coach, Ramon, but other than that if I'm striking it ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, I have. well, I'm not thinking much. I just like to get out there and be able to see the ball fall right and fall left and hit it high Q. What was that first meeting like or what's your and low. If I can do that, I'm ready to go. relationship with her now like?

Q. When you are out there playing practice rounds, is ABRAHAM ANCER: She's awesome. She's just a great there a singular most important thing that you're really person, super easy to talk to, humble. You can just learn trying to hone in on ahead of a major week? so much from her. She is devoted to the game and the people, just to grow the game. She keeps doing -- she's ABRAHAM ANCER: Well, this week will be definitely for very involved still, even though she's not playing, but she me, I'm just getting my lines. I've never been here before, has always been involved and absolutely loves the game. so just my lines off the tee with the wind, and if it happens to change, really put attention where I'm going to be aiming Q. I don't think you addressed it earlier, but I'm at, and also coming into these greens with the pin curious, we've heard a lot of tales from some of the positions, it's a small target, so you want to see kind of guys this week about No. 17 and how daunting that is, where you have the most room or how you want to attack especially into the wind you've been playing so far. I'm each pin. That's mainly what I focus on. curious what your impression of 17 is and how much of a factor can the degree of difficulty on that hole be THE MODERATOR: What are your observations about say on Sunday with a tight leaderboard when you're golf, the state of golf in Mexico right now? Maybe talk trying to either come back or hold on to a lead? about your upbringing, who helped you, thrust you into the game and how you might be looking at the younger ABRAHAM ANCER: Absolutely. Well, I don't think it's only generations behind you and who their role models might 17. I think it's just for -- on 14 and on. If the wind is be. pumping and if they have the pins a little bit tucked and the tee boxes all the way back, I mean, you're just trying to ABRAHAM ANCER: I think Mexican golf and pretty much hold on. Sometimes bogey is not that bad on those holes. Latin America, it's in a really cool and exciting spot right I doubt that they will put the tees all the way back if the now, having -- Mexico having me and Carlos out here and wind is pumping into, but yeah, it's definitely a hole that it's guys that are very close to getting to the PGA TOUR, as extremely difficult. You're just trying to hit the green really, well, from Mexico. Joaquin and Muñoz and Camilo being or put your ball in a spot that you can get up-and-down back, Jhonny, so there's a lot of guys playing well, not only from. But it's definitely a hole that can change the on the PGA TOUR but on a big stage. complete championship.

Personally I was really inspired by Lorena. She really kind It will be exciting to see what transpires. There's going to of opened my eyes and a lot of kids in Mexico that we can be a lot of crazy stuff going on on that hole, which makes

107543-2-1002 2021-05-19 13:44:00 GMT Page 2 of 3 this exciting.

Q. Some guys are adding a 2-iron to their bag. I was wondering if you've changed your set at all to try and keep the ball down out of the wind.

ABRAHAM ANCER: No, I haven't changed anything. I love my 5-wood. I've had that thing for a while now. Changing a 2-iron I don't think is going to help me that much, just because I don't have any problem hitting the ball low. If anything I want to hit it higher. So no, I'm definitely not changing anything.

Q. There's been a lot of talk about the last four or five holes coming in into the wind. The other 13 holes, is there one of those holes that's caught your attention from a difficulty standpoint?

ABRAHAM ANCER: Every hole. Every hole is solid out here. I know the finishing holes are going to be extremely tough and you're just trying to hold on. It's going to be tough to make birdies coming in if it's into the wind. But every hole you just have to be very accurate out here. You can make a big number on hole 1 or hole 18 or really anywhere. You've just got to hit the fairway and try to hit the green on every single hole out here.

I don't think there's just an easy hole that you're thinking, you step on the tee and you're thinking, I'm making birdie every time. You've got to stay focused every time, and it's a great test, this hole 18 holes.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much for joining us. Best of luck all week long and hope to see you again soon.

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