Abraham Ancer Claims First-Ever PGA Tour Title at FedEx St. Jude Invitational

Posted on August 9, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a special first for Abraham Ancer…

The 30-year-old Mexican American professional golfer has claimed the first PGA Tour victory of his career at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

Ancer outlasted third-round leader Harris English, who was at 20 under midway through the final round. Ancer, playing the 10th hole, was 5 strokes behind at TOC Southwind.

“I said to [my caddie]: ‘Harris is running away with it, I’ve got to make some birdies, I’ve got to make a move,'” Ancer said.

Ancer didn’t run off a string of birdies, but he played steady, bogey-free golf and won his first title — in his 121st start — beating Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns with a 6-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff.

“It was a dream come true to win on the PGA Tour,” Ancer said.

Ancer won the World Golf Championships event after Burns’ 5½-foot putt — on the same line as Ancer — lipped out.

“This is surreal,” said Ancer, the former University of Oklahoma player who was born in McAllen, Texas. “I felt I left so many shots out there on the back nine, but you never know.”

Ancer, who finished second at the Wells Fargo Championship in May, played more aggressively on the second extra trip down the par-4 18th.

“I went right at it and the shot played perfectly in my mind and it came out just how I pictured it,” he said.

English, the leader after each of the first three rounds, faltered on the back nine to give Ancer, Burns and Matsuyama a chance.

English made a double-bogey 5 at No.11 after hitting his tee shot in the water.

“I played good on the front nine and just kind of hit a road bump on 11,” he said. “I got the wind [reading] wrong and it kind of went downhill from there.”

Ancer closed with a 2-under 68 to match Matsuyama and Burns at 16-under 264. Matsuyama shot a 63, and Burns had a 64. English, the 2013 champion at TPC Southwind, was a stroke back after a 73.

On the first extra hole, Ancer, Burns and Matsuyama, coming off a bronze-medal playoff loss at the 2020 Tokyo Games, made decent runs at birdies. Matsuyama had the shortest attempt — from 20 feet — and it nearly went in the cup before lipping out.

“It’s tough to lose in a playoff,” Matsuyama said. “but I wasn’t able to hit the fairway with either tee shot [in the playoff]. I did my best.

English was seeking the fifth title of his career — and third this season — but collapsed on the back nine. Ahead by 2 strokes at 20 under at the turn, he played the back nine in 5 over. He missed a 13-foot birdie putt on 18.

Ancer made only one birdie on the back nine.

“It was definitely a surprise to win,” Ancer said. “I couldn’t believe I was tied for the lead on [No. 16]. I thought I was 4 behind. But you never know in golf.”

Carlos Ortiz Wins Houston Open to Become First Mexican to Win on PGA Tour in 42 Years

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a historic win for Carlos Ortiz…

The 29-year-old Mexican professional golfer holed two long birdie putts from off the green to take the lead, then stayed strong down the stretch and delivered the winning shots for a 5-under 65 and a two-shot victory in the Houston Open.

Ortiz, a three-time winner on what was then the Web.com Tour in 2014, became the first Mexican to win on the PGA Tour since Victor Regalado in 1978 at the Quad Cities Open.

Ortiz played the final round alongside a former No. 1 player in Jason Day. He spent the back nine locked in a battle with the current No. 1, Dustin Johnson.

He pulled ahead for good with a 6-iron so good Ortiz started walking after it on the par-5 16th. Ortiz had to settle for a two-putt birdie from 8 feet and he finished in style with a 20-foot birdie for a two-shot victory over Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama.

“I wasn’t really thinking about the other guys. I wasn’t worried,” Ortiz said. “I knew if I played good I was going to be hard to beat. … I knew I was capable of doing that because I know myself, but obviously validating that and then showing it, it definitely gets me more confidence. I’m just happy the way it played out.”

Ortiz held back tears as he waited for his playing partners to putt. The victory sends him to the Masters next April. He was there a year ago to watch his brother, Alvaro, who qualified by winning the Latin American Amateur.

“It feels awesome,” said Ortiz, who grew up in Guadalajara and played at North Texas with Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, the most recent Latin American winner on tour. “This is like my second home. There was a bunch of people cheering for me, Latinos and Texans. I’m thankful for all of them.”

Rafael Nadal Becomes Only Fourth Man to Reach 1,000 Career Match Wins

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Nadal has joined an elite group of tennis stars…

The 34-year-old Spanish tennis star has become only the fourth man to reach 1,000 match victories.

Nadal reached the milestone at the Paris Masters after defeating his compatriot Feliciano Lopez 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Nadal joins towering company in Jimmy Connors (1,274), Roger Federer (1,242) and Ivan Lendl (1,068) as the only men in the 1,000-wins club since the Open era began in 1968.

“I know it is a very special number, one thousand,” Nadal said. “Even if it’s not the same to celebrate something like this without a crowd.”

Nadal smiled as he posed at the net with the number 1,000 displayed on the court in a brief ceremony, and then he walked off center court like after any other match.

It was the second milestone he reached in Paris this year, having won the French Open last month to tie Federer with 20 majors.

Nadal’s first win came in May 2002 at the age of 15, when he beat Paraguayan Ramon Delgado in the first round at Mallorca.

A year later, the 16-year-old Nadal stunned the tennis world by beating French Open champion Albert Costa under floodlights in the second round at the Monte Carlo Masters.

By the age of 24, he had already reached 500 wins. His career tally also includes 35 Masters titles and 86 tournament victories overall.

Nadal, who has never won this tournament, next plays Australia’s Jordan Thompson, who upset 15th-seeded Croat Borna Coric 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Sergio Garcia Wins Sanderson Farms Championship, Ending Yearlong PGA Tour Title Drought

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Sergio Garcia is flying high like a bird(ie)…

The 40-year-old Spanish professional golfer, who’d gone a little more than a year without a victory, has won the Sanderson Farms Championship with an 8-iron to 30 inches for birdie on the final hole.

“The perfect ending for an amazing week,” Garcia said.

Garcia, who’d failed to make the FedEx Cup playoffs and fell out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 2011, hit a 5-wood that barely cleared a bunker and set up an eagle putt from just inside 4 feet to tie for the lead, before hitting the birdie for the win.

Peter Malnati, whose lone PGA Tour victory was at the Country Club of Jackson five years ago, rallied from five shots behind with a career-best 63, punctuated by a 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole.

That set the target, and Garcia needed his two big shots to catch and then beat him. The 5-wood from 260 yards on the 14th hole hit the top collar of the bunker, hopped onto the fringe and rolled out close to the hole.

But it was the 482-yard closing hole into the wind that made him proud.

“I stood up on 18 and I did what I’ve been doing all week. I trusted myself,” Garcia said. “I aimed down the right side of the fairway and just hit a hard draw — really, really nice drive — and it gave me the ability to have an 8-iron into the green instead of having a 6 or something like that.”

It was his first PGA Tour victory since he won the Masters in 2017 with a back-nine rally highlighted by an 8-iron that glanced off the pin on the 15th and set up eagle. He eventually beat Justin Rose in a playoff.

“This time it was an 8-iron on 18, and to almost hit the pain again and hit it close, it was a dream come true,” he said.

Garcia now has won at least once worldwide in each of his last 10 years, a streak he shares with Rose. He won for the 11th time on the PGA Tour, and the 31st time worldwide.

He finished at 19-under 269 and moves to No. 38 in the world.

Garcia heads for Las Vegas, with the Masters just over a month away.

“A boost of confidence, there’s no doubt,” Garcia said. “Every time you play well, even if I would have not won it, it still would have been a massive high for me this week. To be able to do a lot of the things that I did, it meant a lot. It showed me a lot of what I still have and what I still can do.”

Roberto Bautista Agut Outlasts Defending Champion Daniil Medvedev to reach Semifinals at the Western & Southern Open

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Roberto Bautista Agut has pulled off a big upset…

The 32-year-old Spanish professional tennis player knocked out defending champion Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open.

Medvedev failed to close it out in the second set, and Bautista Agut rallied for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory that eliminated yet another top player from the tuneup tournament for the US Open. Djokovic is the only player left in the tournament with an ATP Masters 1000 title to his credit.

Medvedev led 4-3 in the second before letting it slip away. He converted only five of 20 break points in the match and swatted his racket against the court in frustration at the end.

“Even in the third set I had my chances and didn’t take them,” Medvedev said.

Bautista Agut reached his third ATP Masters semifinal and his first since 2016. He needed a set to adjust to the breezy, cooler conditions on court.

“It’s never easy to come back and play good at first,” he said. “I have to be patient, to try to enjoy every single match I play here after six months without competing. Just pleased and happy to be in the semifinals.”

Medvedev hoisted the champion’s Rookwood Pottery cup last year in Mason, Ohio, where the tournament is held annually. This year’s event was moved to the US Open site in Flushing Meadows because of coronavirus pandemic precautions, creating a two-tournament event without spectators.

He’ll next face World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.

Jose Vega Atop the Leaderboard at the Latin American Amateur Championship

Posted on January 19, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Jose Vega is leading the pack in Mexico…

The 26-year-old Colombian golfer withstood another tough day of wind on Saturday at Mayakoba for a 1-over 72 that gave him a two-shot lead going into the final round of the Latin American Amateur Championship.

At stake for Vega is a spot in the Mastersat Augusta Nationalin April and in the British Openat Royal St. George’sin July.

Despite a bogey on the final hole at El Camaleon Golf Club, Vega remained the only player under par from the 52 players who made the cut.

He was at 2-under 211.

Abel Gallegosbirdied his last two holes for a 70. He was at even-par 213.

Gabriel Morgan Birke of Chile and Ivan Camilo Ramirez of Colombia, who led after the opening round, were tied for third at 3-over 216.

Vega is a regional sales director for Trackman, the sonar-based device used by top professionals around the world.

Along with spots in two majors, the winner is exempt into the final stage of qualifying for the U.S. Open, and exempt for any USGA amateur event for which he is eligible.

”When I step up on the first tee tomorrow, it’s going to be a grind,” Vega said. ”The one that is going to take the trophy home is the one that makes fewer mistakes.”

Gallegos is a 17-year-old from a small town outside Buenos Aires that has only a nine-hole course. He still was named junior golfer of the year in 2019 for Argentina. This is his first appearance in the Latin American Amateur.

”My goal was to have a chance on Sunday,” Gallegos said. ”I think I fulfilled that. Now I just need to trust myself.”

Sebastian Munoz Wins First PGA Tour Title at the Sanderson Farms Championship

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a hard-earned first for Sebastian Munoz…

The 26-year-old Colombian professional golfer made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff, and then beat Sungjae Im with a par on the first extra hole to win the Sanderson Farms Championship for his first PGA Tour victory.

Munoz, who closed with a 2-under 70, made it two straight weeks for South American winners, following Joaquin Niemann‘s victory last week at the Greenbrier.

“Jaco’s win gave me the belief I needed, the little extra belief I’m good enough, I’m here,” Munoz said.

Niemann won by 6 shots at the Greenbrier. Munoz had it far more difficult.

He was among four players in the mix over the back nine at the Country Club of Jackson, and it looked as though Im would snatch his first victory when he made a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 14th, got up and down from a bunker on the reachable 15th for birdie, and made it three straight birdies with a 12-foot putt on 16.

He closed with a 66, and that looked like it might be enough.

Byeong Hun An made consecutive bogeys to fall out of the mix. Carlos Ortiz couldn’t get a putt to fall.

Munoz lost two good scoring opportunities by hitting his drive well right of the fairway on the 14th, and then flubbing a lob shot left of the 15th green that went into the bunker, leading to bogey. Down to his last hole, he played it to perfection with a big drive, an approach to 15 feet below the hole and the most important putt of his young career.

The Bogota native, who played his college golf at the University of North Texas, poured in the birdie putt to join Im at 18-under 270.

“We just decided on a line, kept it as simple as can and just strike the putt,” Munoz said.

The playoff on the 18th hole wasn’t as clean.

Im went left into the Bermuda rough and caught a flier, sending the ball well over the green against the grandstand. Munoz was in the right rough and, expecting the ball to come out hot, he abbreviated his swing and it came out some 30 yards short. His chip-and-run rolled out to just under 4 feet. Im did well to pitch out of rough to just over 6 feet by the hole, but his par putt didn’t even touch the cup and he started walking soon after he hit it.

Munoz rolled in the par putt and the celebration was on.

“I’m speechless,” he said.

This is the first time since the tournament began in 1986 that it was not held the same week as another PGA Tour event with a stronger field. That means it gets full FedEx Cup points, and Munoz earned a spot in the Masters for the first time.

The playoff ended a streak of 38 consecutive PGA Tour events that were decided in regulation, dating to Charles Howell III winning in a playoff at Sea Island at the end of last year.

Sergio Garcia to Play This Year’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Sergio Garcia is headed to Louisiana…

The 38-year-old Spanish professional golfer, defending Masters champion and world No. 11 has committed to play in the PGA Tour‘s Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event in April.

Tournament chief Steve Worthy, who made the announcement, says Garcia’s partner will be fellow Spaniard and Zurich Classic newcomer Rafa Cabrera Bello, who is ranked 21st.

Garcia last played the tournament, held at the TPC Louisiana, in 2010.

Garcia and Cabrera Bello teamed for two matches at the 2016 Ryder Cup, going 1-0-1 in Europe’s losing effort.

Worthy says this year’s field also will include 2011 Zurich Classic winner and two-time former Masters champion Bubba Watson, but with a new partner, Matt Kuchar. Last year, Watson played with J.B. Holmes.

This marks the second year of the team format at the Zurich, won last year by Swede Jonas Blixt and Australian Cameron Smith.

The tournament runs from April 26-29.

Angel Cabrera & Angel Cabrera Jr. Win PNC Father-Son Challenge

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a special family honor for Angel Cabrera and his son…

The 48-year-old Argentine professional golfer and his 26-year-old son Angel Cabrera Jr. closed with a 12-under 60 for a three-shot victory in their debut at the PNC Father-Son Challenge.

The Cabreras opened with a 59 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and were challenged briefly by the defending champions, David Duval and Nick Karavites, in the scramble format Sunday.

The Cabreras went out in 30, and they had a two-shot lead when Cabrera’s son came within an inch of chipping in for eagle on the final hole.

They finished at 25-under 199 for a three-shot victory over Duval and Karavites, and Bernhard Langer and Jason Langer. The Langer team won in 2014.

Mark O’Meara and Shaun O’Meara tied for fourth at 21 under with Jerry Pate and Wesley Pate.

Cabrera wasn’t even in the field until two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange and his son, Tom Strange, had to withdraw.

Duval and his stepson went out in 28, but the Cabreras regained control by starting the back nine with back-to-back birdies, and then making birdies on the 13th, 14th and 16th. The final birdie allowed them to tie the tournament scoring record.

“This is certain my best week of the year,” said Cabrera, the 2009 Masters champion and 2007 U.S. Open champion at Oakmont. “To play alongside all the legends … as well as playing alongside my son, has been the greatest week of the year.”

The popular event is for players who have won a major championship or The Players Championship. It is a scramble format both days.

In some cases, the major champions lean on the power of their sons for the distance. O’Meara said Saturday that his “little man” hit it 58 yards by him on the 18th. And on Sunday, Stewart Cink said son Reagan told him after outdriving him on the opening four holes, “In this tournament I may be your son, but right now I’m your Daddy!”

Jack Nicklaus played with his grandson, G.T. They closed with a 64 and tied for 15th in the field of 20 teams.

Sergio Garcia Wins Andalucia Valderrama Masters

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Make that a Spanish seis for Sergio Garcia…

The 37-year-old Spanish golf star successfully defended his title at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters to claim his sixth victory on home soil.

Garcia, the Masters champion, who won the last staging of the event in 2011, carded a closing 67 to finish 12 under par, a shot ahead of Holland’s Joost Luiten.

England’s Daniel Brooks was four strokes further back in third, a result good enough to secure his European Tour card for next season by moving him from 123rd on the Race to Dubai to inside the top 100.

After seeing his one-shot overnight lead quickly wiped out when Brooks birdied the second, Garcia responded with a birdie on the par-five fourth and ended the front nine in style by using a fairway wood to hole from the fringe for a birdie on the ninth.

Watched by his wife Angela and father Victor, Garcia then holed from 10 feet for birdie on the 10th and three feet on the next to move three clear, only to bogey the 12th after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

The gap was down to one when Luiten birdied the 13th and another birdie on the 15th drew the Dutchman level, only for the five-time European Tour winner to three-putt the next.

Both men birdied the par-five 17th and when Luiten’s birdie attempt on the last caught the edge of the hole and stayed out, Garcia had the luxury of two-putting from close range to claim a third win of the season.

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Celebrating the Latino Influence

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