LOS ANGELES – Abraham Ancer was originally scheduled to take a commercial flight from San Antonio to Los Angeles on Monday to play this week’s Genesis Invitational. That was before a winter storm blanketed Texas with snow.
“At some points I thought I was coming, at some points I was like, there's no chance I'm coming,” Ancer said following his opening round at Riviera Country Club.
With all commercial flights grounded because of the weather, Ancer turned to a friend with a private jet.
“We had a one- or two-hour gap to take off. Then while we took off, it got closed again,” he said, following his first-round 71. “We just found that little window to be able to take off.”
Ancer arrived in Los Angeles Wednesday and wasn’t able to play a practice round. Sergio Garcia, who lives in Austin, had similar weather issues and was also a late arrival
“I see [Garcia] here, I was like, what happened? He was like, 'Well, they told me, we've got a little 30-minute window and if you want to go, it's right now,'" Ancer said. “So, we both made it last night and here we are.”
Cameron Champ withdrew from the event late Wednesday to remain at home in Houston.