Abraham Ancer had become one of golf's finest performers, but it took him a long while to make a breakthrough at the top level.

Abraham Ancer is a Mexican golfer who finally got his breakthrough at PGA Tour level with triumph in the World Golf Championship-St Jude Invitational in August 2021.

Victory at the highest level had long been expected of him following a successful college career and smooth progress through the professional ranks.

However, despite wins on the second tier and in Australia, that win had proved elusive until the sheer weight of quality performances, and appearances on the leaderboard, made the success an inevitability.

Ancer was born in Texas and grew up in a tough district in Mexico, but his father worked hard to permit his son to take advantage of his golfing ability.

The hard work bore fruit, with Ancer becoming a regular PGA Tour performer soon after a difficult first year on the circuit.

He has represented the International team at the Presidents Cup, and also Mexico in the World Cup and at the Olympics.

In late 2020 he also played the final round of the Masters in the final group, alongside the eventual champion Dustin Johnson.

Although born in Texas, Ancer grew up in the northern Mexican city of Reynosa, before returning to Texas for junior college and then progressing to the University of Oklahoma.

His was a solid rather than spectacular amateur career - he was an All American while at junior college, but he had little success beyond the university golf circuit.

He joined the pro ranks in late 2013 and had something of an odd ball 2015 Korn Ferry Tour experience, having earned his card through Qualifying School late the previous year.

He finished second in Brazil and added a victory in the Nova Scotia Open.

Those two results propelled him onto the PGA Tour, but perhaps too soon.

They had been his only top 10s of the season and he had missed a lot of cuts, a pattern that would be repeated at the top level so in 2017 he was back on the second tier.

But he had learned good lessons.

He started that second year on the KFT with a top 10 and added another seven throughout the campaign to rejoin the PGA Tour at year's end.

The 2017-18 season began in much improved fashion.

He was making lots of weekends and, on home turf at the OHL Classic, he logged a first PGA Tour top 10, one of eight top 20 finishes that allowed him to easily secure his card and, in actual fact, nearly make the Tour Championship.

Before 2018 was out he had travelled down under where he won the Australian Open at The Lakes Country Club.

He also started the 2018-19 PGA Tour season with a top five in Malaysia and another eight top 20s would see him reach the Tour Championship in August 2019.

He closed the calendar year with another top 10 in Mexico, a first top five finish in the WGC at the HSBC Champions in China, and a starring role for the International team in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne.

He won three and halved another match when paired with other golfers and was then drawn to play Tiger Woods in the singles.

He had asked for the honour and yet Woods seemed angry. "Abe wanted it, he got it," he growled.

Woods won 3&2, but needed to be 7-under through 16 holes to do so.

Ancer had finished second once in late 2019, would do twice in 2020, and again in 2021.

He was also racking up top 10 finishes: 19 in three and a half seasons to mid-2021.

He also recorded top 20s in all five WGC events in 2020 and 2021, as well making the cut in six of the seven Majors.

He was a by-word for top level consistency, but the win was proving hard to grab.

A week after representing Mexico at the Tokyo Olympics, Ancer travelled to TPC Southwind for the WGC-St Jude Invitational.

He had played the course three times in the past and had two top 20 finishes.

It called for neat golf tee to green so was acknowledged as a good fit for him.

But could he get over the line?

He was in contention all week, but Harris English appeared to have the tournament sewn up hitting the back nine on Sunday. Ancer revealed that he and his caddie stayed patient and looked for any sign of the leader crumbling.

He did exactly that. Ancer equalled the clubhouse target set by Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns, then defeated them both with birdie at the second extra hole.

"I was trying to kind of let it all sink in there in the ceremony on 18," he said. "It was really surreal, something that I've been working for since I was a little kid. Definitely a dream come true to win on the PGA TOUR."

Ancer's partner is Nicole Curtright and he lives in San Antonio, Texas.

His father was a key figure in his early life, as he revealed following his win at Southwind.

"He busted his butt his whole life to just get me to tournaments and just have a chance to compete and get better," Ancer said. "He definitely would be extremely proud.

"He literally just did everything he could even if money was tight. Just to take me to a tournament, now that I know what travelling costs, I was like, 'Man, I don't know how he did it.' He always just figured out a way."

Ancer has career earning in excess of $5million and ExactNetWorth.com rates him as having a total net worth of over $10million.