Hand it to Roberto Diaz.
He played pretty well on Thursday at the WGC-Mexico, turning in a round of even-par 71.
It is significant because if they were playing by normal WGC rules, Diaz would not be there at the Club de Golf Chapultepec. He is in the field on a “sponsor’s exemption” and there typically are no sponsors exemption in WGC events. If there were, Tiger Woods would get an invite to every one despite the fact he has fallen off the face of the earth in world rankings, putting him out of the events he has simply dominated.
Diaz is not even a member of the PGA Tour, he’s currently playing on the Web.com Tour where he has a couple of runner-up finishes over the past two years.
But part of the push to move this event to Mexico is the fact that golf in Mexico is an afterthought and is simply a game for the wealthy-only in a country where there is a lot of poverty.
“It was great,” Diaz said of his first round. “A lot of people were yelling and screaming my name,” said the former University of South Carolina golfer who hails from Veracruz.
He has a lot of pressure on him with that “sponsor’s exemption” status and there’s no cut so he’s guaranteed a healthy paycheck. These events pay $50,000 for last place.
He was just four shots behind co-leaders Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Ryan Moore, Jimmy Walker, Ross Fisher and Jon Rahm.
Rory McIlroy showed no ill effects from his healed rib and despite some rust, shot 68 and was just a shot off the lead.
4 Comments
beege
Will my prediction be wrong? will i have to eat a bit of crow? come sunday we will know for sure–this could be phil’s time–i think not of course–its 4 rounds, 72 stroke play holes and great competition. he does like poa ana(sp?) and altitude. I kinda like sergio.
Tom Edrington
Bob, I was thinking about you yesterday when Phil was going ga-ga after his round. Don’t know if old Lefty can handle the high altitude for four rounds, depends on who is in the hunt on Sunday. I know he’s pretty capable of beating all the guys who shot 67 on Thursday!
Blueb
Quote:.. “… is the fact that golf in Mexico is an afterthought and is simply a game for the wealthy-only in a country where there is a lot of poverty.”
Kind of a generalization. The reason I retired here is because of the weather AND the golf. I live in Cuernavaca (about an hour south of Mexico City and 78 to 82 degrees year-round), where there are 6 great courses.
I just got back from visiting a lake in the highlands west of Mexico City (Valle de Bravo) and there were 3 courses in town. The course that I played at was: CLUB DE GOLF AVÁNDARO
(http://www.clubdegolfavandaro.com.mx).
Fantastic place and great golf.
Tom Edrington
Yes and a country where more than 50 percent of the people live in poverty. Nationwide, 20 million children live in poverty. More on this in Monday’s feature.