It’s been 42 years since a player from Mexico won on the PGA Tour but Carlos Ortiz ended that drought with a sensational Sunday at the Houston Open.
Ortiz outlasted the world’s No. 1, Dustin Johnson and Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama and earned his first-ever PGA Tour win after five seasons and 118 starts on tour with a closing 65 that got him to 13-under par at Memorial Park.
It became a three-way battle down the stretch. Matsuyama and Dustin Johnson were in the thick of it but D.J. hurt his chances when he failed to make three on the reachable (318-yard) par four 13th then hit a really loose seven-iron for his second at the par five 16th that left him long right and he couldn’t make four from there. As for Hideki, he birdied 12 and 13 the added two more at 16 and 17. He had a good look at birdie on the 72nd hole from inside 14 feet but missed, opening the door for Ortiz.
Ortiz responded with an awesome drive and an incredible six-iron into the par five 16th that left him staring at just eight feet for eagle. He barely missed, one of his few misses inside 10 feet but the tap-in got him to 12-under and he put a cherry on top of the victory cake with a neat right-to-left breaker from 22-feet for birdie at 18 and a final round of 65 to cap his victory.
Johnson (65) and Matsuyama (63) tied for second at 11-under. Matsuyama was looking for his first win since the 2017 WGC Bridgestone.
But it was Ortiz’s turn to celebrate. He got a winner’s kiss from wife Haley and they strolled hand-in-hand to the scorer’s area.
“It feels awesome,” said Ortiz who let his emotions show as tears formed in his eyes. “It’s been a while since I’ve won (2014 Web.com). I’ve had a bunch of people out here cheering for me, Texans and Latinos. It’s a really hard golf course. I was patient. I just tried to mind my own business. That final hole (birdie) — that was amazing! I’m just really happy the way I played,” added Ortiz, who lives in Dallas and has made Texas his adopted home.
In past years the winner of this event would head straight to Augusta National for The Masters but in this unusual year, Ortiz will be in he 2021 field next April.
As for Johnson, after his opening 72 he shot 66-66-65 and looked ready for The Masters. Same for Brooks Koepka. He shot 72-70 then recorded back-to-back 65s for the weekend, tied for fifth and declared afterward: “I’m ready for next week (Masters).”
Sunday’s setup was the easiest of the week with three players (Hideki, Taylor Gooch, Mackenzie Hughes) shooting seven-under par 63s.
Kevin Sutherland Wins Schwab Cup Event In Nine-Hole Playoff with Paul Broadhurst:
There wasn’t enough daylight Sunday to determine a winner of the Charles Schwab Cup championship at Phoenix Country Club but it was Kevin Sutherland winning on Monday morning.
It took a total of nine holes playoff to determine the winner. They played six on Sunday when total darkness set in. On Monday, both parred 17 then both birdied the 18th then headed back to 17 where Sutherland stuck his approach on the par four to three feet. Broadhurst came up short with his second, got it up-and-down for par then watched as Sutherland made the winning putt.
It was Sutherland’s fourth Champions victory. Woody Austin finished solo third at 12-under par. This was the final senior event for calendar year 2020. The Champions Tour will get going in 2021 with a carry-over year.
