Abraham Ancer opens up about years of back pain after surgery
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GOLF LIV ADELAIDE, Mexican-American golfer Abraham Ancer on the fourth tee during the LIV Golf Adelaide at The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide, Saturday, February 15, 2025. ACHTUNG: NUR REDAKTIONELLE NUTZUNG, KEINE ARCHIVIERUNG UND KEINE BUCHNUTZUNG ADELAIDE SA Australia PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxAUSxNZLxPNGxFIJxVANxSOLxTGA Copyright: xMICHAELxERREYx 20250215156391228321
After years of grinding through back pain, LIV Golf's Abraham Ancer finally ran out of options. The 35-year-old underwent successful surgery and will be sidelined for the rest of the season.
Ancer featured at all 12 events this season on the rebel tour. However, the Mexican did so while feeling the pain in his back that has lingered over the last few years. He finally couldn't delay surgery any longer.
“For the last few years, I’ve been playing through back pain and trying to find ways to manage it, hoping I could keep playing and make it work,” Ancer wrote on Instagram. “While I made every effort to avoid it, it became apparent that surgery was the only option.”
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Crown Australian Open 2025 Abraham Ancer MEX in action during the third round of the Australian Open, Royal Melbourne ,Australia 6/12/2025 Picture:Golffile / Anthony Powter All photo usage must carry mandatory copyright credit Golffile Anthony Powter Melbourne Royal Melbourne GC Victoria Australia Copyright: xAnthonyxPowterx Crown Australian Open 2025
Ancer managed solid performances despite chronic pain, leaning on PT Christian Compean and his team. In 2026, the Torque GC player registered five top-five finishes.
Ancer's surgery took place at Baylor Uptown Medical Center and was performed by Dr. Michael Duffy.
“As much as I love playing and would like to keep going the rest of the year, I made the difficult decision to step away and take care of myself,” Ancer added in his Instagram post. “It wasn’t an easy choice, but I know it’s the right one for my long-term health.”
After winning the 2021 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Ancer jumped ship to the rebel tour. His only win on the breakaway tour came at LIV Golf Hong Kong in 2024.
However, it remains unclear when and where Ancer will return. With things changing around LIV Golf, the future is far from certain.
LIV Golf restructures as Ancer steps away
Without the PIF’s funding, LIV Golf is preparing itself for a new chapter. The restructuring has already begun.
“We are scaling back operations as we transition to the next chapter of LIV Golf and work toward making LIV 2.0 a reality," LIV said in a statement Wednesday, according to Golf Channel's report.
As the league transitions to the “LIV 2.0” model, many of its employees will be laid off next week.
“This week, we informed many of our colleagues that their employment under LIV 1.0 will end in the first week of September,” LIV added.
The whole LIV schedule will also be shortened to a 10-tournament season.
LIV CEO Scott O'Neil announced that the league has secured a lead investor, reportedly BC Partners. However, the deal has not yet been finalized.
The future of LIV Golfers remains in the balance.
Written by
Avishek Sarkar