Does the PGA Tour have an Ancer for LIV Golf? Top two Mexicans fled to Saudi upstart.

Ever since Mexican golfers Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz joined the U.S.’s premier golf competition, more and more Mexican fans have either watched them in person or tuned in to see them compete alongside the Colin Morikawas and Rory McElroys of the PGA Tour.

At the 2019 U.S. Open held at the historic Pebble Beach links, Ancer and Ortiz made the cut. It was the first time that two Mexican golfers had qualified for the final two rounds of the Open.

Fans held up Mexican flags as they followed the two players. Others carried signs encouraging the players. Ancer and Ortiz faded over the next two days, but their presence on the PGA Tour gets regular media attention back home.

Having Ancer and Ortiz on the tour has helped the PGA Tour boast of being a major destination for the elite among international golfers.

That is, until the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Tour poached the two Mexican players along with players like Bryson Dechambeau, Sergio García and Dustin Johnson.

Not since the heyday of Lee Treviño and Chi Chi Rodríguez have Latino golf fans had someone to follow. Both legendary players drew plenty of attention at the defunct Save Mart Shootout held at what is now Dragonfly Golf Club; as did LPGA great Nancy López.

Tiger Woods, who reportedly turned down a $1 billion offer to join LIV Golf, was asked for his thoughts about Ancer’s decision to bolt to the new golf circuit.

“Abe wanted it. Abe got it,” Woods replied.

The controversy over LIV Golf (named after the Roman numerals for 54, which is the number of holes the fledgling tour will play rather than the standard 72 holes) is the country’s involvement in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. American intelligence points to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the man who ordered the journalist’s killing.

That is why many PGA Tour players overlooked huge paychecks from LIV Golf, which is led by Australian great Greg Norman. Getting Ancer and Ortiz is key to his effort to spread LIV Golf to Latin América.

“Abraham’s global reach and star power in México and Latin América makes him a great fit for LIV Golf, which is committed to growing the sport on a global scale, particularly in new and emerging markets,” said Norman.

What Ancer, 31, wanted in his sixth season on the PGA Tour was to spend more time with his family and friends.

“As a passionate entrepreneur, I am excited about my endeavors outside of the game of golf,” Ancer posted on Twitter last month. He co-owns a tequila brand.

“Additionally, this new opportunity provides me more time to invest and give back to the game by helping it grow and flourish in my home country of México,” he continued. “As a child growing up in Reynosa, México, I never could have imagined being in this position today and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”

Ancer has pocketed almost $15 million in earnings on the PGA Tour.

Countryman Ortiz, 31, has won $7.8 million on the same tour. Each has one PGA victory.

Ortiz has not commented about his move to LIV Golf, which is looking to expand its reach into México at the PGA Tour’s expense.

The PGA’s Mexican Open will now be without the country’s two best players.

The PGA has banned LIV Golf-bound players from its tour. Now, it will have to figure out a way to continue its reach to a growing Latino demographic in the United States.

More than 3 million Latinos played golf in the U.S. in 2018, according to the World Golf Foundation.

The PGA still has Latin American stars like Chile’s Joaquín Niemann, a two-time tour winner, and Colombia’s Sebastián Muñoz (1 tour win). However, Latino golfers in the U.S. are six times greater in number than those in Latin América and Spain COMBINED!!!

The question here isn’t why Ancer and Ortiz decided to align themselves with a golf tour backed by a brutal Saudi leader who has also limited women’s rights.

Rather, it is what the PGA Tour will do to keep its Latino fan base? Stay tuned.

Juan Esparza Loera has been editor of Vida en el Valle since it first published in August 1990.