Tag Archives: Web.com Tour

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

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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.

Carlos Ortiz

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.”

Flores Takes One-Stroke Lead at Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship

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Martin Flores is at the top of the leaderboard…

The 33-year-old Latino golfer shot a 1-under 70 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Web.com Tour Finals‘ Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.

Martin Flores

Flores, tied for the first-round lead after a 67, had three birdies and two bogeys, all on the back nine, to reach 5-under 137 on Ohio State’s difficult Scarlet Course.

He has played the PGA Tour five of the past six seasons.

“I try to do a good job of keeping a good attitude,” said Flores. “Sometimes it’s a struggle, but this game is tough sometimes. … Everybody has a battle within themselves of some kind when they play. It’s overcoming that battle and going out there and executing golf shots.”

The tournament is the third of four events in the series for the top 75 players from the Web.com Tour money list, Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings and nonmembers who earned enough money to have placed in the top 200 had they been eligible to receive points.

The top 25 players on Web.com regular-season money list earned PGA Tour cards. They are competing against one another for PGA Tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals. The other players are fighting for another 25 cards based on series earnings.

Flores was 156th in the FedEx Cup and has made $2,900 in the series.

“Every year, if you don’t go out and prove yourself, you’re going to get beat up a little bit,” Flores said. “Sometimes you take a step back to take a couple of leaps forward.”

Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer‘s grandson, was tied for second with Roberto Castro, Luke List and Australia’s Rhein Gibson. List shot a 67, and Saunders, Castro and Gibson shot 68.