This coming week, the PGA TOUR travels south of the border to the Mexico Open at Vidanta for its first international event of the 2024 season.
There will be eight Mexicans competing, although just one of them is a member of the PGA TOUR. That prepares the audience for what could be a historic underdog tale. Here are a few hometown players that could have an impact before first-round action begins.
1.Raul Pereda :
Pereda is back at the Mexico Open at Vidanta after making a remarkable debut on the PGA TOUR here a year ago. After the first round, he was tied for fourth position. On the seventh hole of the second round, he made an eagle from 249 yards away. After his tee shot on the 297-yard seventh hole halted two feet from the hole, he could not maintain his performance and made another eagle in the final round. After finishing T60 in the final round, he had begun it inside the top 20.
Pereda performed without a sponsor that particular week.
He will play with pride this year as the lone Mexican member of the active PGA TOUR. A reality he thinks will pass within a year or so.
“What would it be like to be the sole player in a whole nation realising a dream? I would like them to come see me and accompany me on the PGA TOUR. And I want that situation to be shared by all of my friends and fellow Mexican players.” stated Pereda who got his card through Q-School presented By Korn Ferry Tour.
In his two starts on the PGA TOUR this season (the American Express and Farmers Insurance Open), Pereda has failed to make the cut.
2.Santiago De La Fuente :
The 22-year-old De la Fuente is the current Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) champion. This week, the senior from University of Houston is participating in his second Mexico Open at Vidanta. As a result of his LAAC victory, the All-American has earned exemptions to the Masters, U.S. Open, and Open Championship.
De la Fuente received a scholarship to Houston after spending two years as a member of an NCAA Division II national championship team at Arkansas Tech. His honourable mention All-American status from the previous season was the first for the Cougars since 2016.
He also had the lowest scoring average on the team (70.71) with 26 rounds of par or better, 13 of which were in the 60s. In the most recent PGA TOUR University Ranking, he is ranked 38th.
3. Omar Morales :
In the 2023 U.S. Open, Morales got a taste of the limelight when he opened with a front-nine 32 on Thursday. Although the lead didn’t stay, the UCLA junior benefited greatly from the experience.
At UCLA, 20-year-old Morales had quite the bookends to his sophomore season. In the season’s opening event, he came in second to last but earned his last start. Even though he placed 89th out of 90 players in the Maui Jim Intercollegiate, he concluded the year as the highest-ranked player on the squad, concluding in Golfweek’s final rankings at 241st.
At the El Macero Classic, he shot career-low 67s in the last two rounds to win his first title as a collegiate player. He went 69-67-67 to win the event, and he has three sub-70 rounds this season. In the last five tournaments of the season, he averaged 70.7 points.
At the Mexico Open the previous year, Morales missed the cut. He missed the cut by one after shooting 74-67.
“I glanced at the leaderboard far too often on the opening day, Morales said to Golf Channel. “I was one over after seven holes, nine behind the lead, and I was starting to get upset with myself because I didn’t realise I was playing every difficult hole. It’s most important to just concentrate on what I can do.” Morales told Golf Channel.
4. Alvaro Ortiz :
The Mexico Open at Vidanta is taking place this week, marking the competition’s third PGA TOUR appearance. Prior to that, Ortiz was the previous winner of the event, which was a staple on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica.
It took Ortiz three strokes to win the Mexico Open in 2021.
Ortiz was a highly accomplished amateur. Having finished in the top three in each of his five tries at the event, he won the 2019 Latin America Amateur Championship. After Victor Regalado in 1979, he became the first Mexican to play in the Masters and proceeded to make the cut. He finished one shot behind Viktor Hovland, a low amateur.
When Tiger Woods approached the 17th hole at Augusta National Golf Club, possibly creating history, Ortiz realised he was about to drive down Magnolia Lane after finishing his final round there. He parked, turned around, and proceeded to No. 18. Watching Woods enter, he stood in front of the TV.
“That was the icing on the cake as far as my Masters week was concerned. Throughout my life, I will treasure the entire experience.” he said.
Before losing his card in 2022, Ortiz participated in one season of the Korn Ferry Tour. He earned it again last December when he placed third in the Korn Ferry-presented Final Stage of Q-School.
5. Roberto Diaz :
Diaz’s resume features a tonne of PGA TOUR golf. From 2017 to 2019, the 37-year-old maintained his TOUR status and made 48 starts. For the past few years, he has been working towards returning there.
After finishing No. 29 in the Korn Ferry Tour Points List for the 2020–21 combined season, Diaz won his first Korn Ferry Tour event in the 2021 Chitimacha Louisiana Open. After winning in his 194th start on the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour, or PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, he was in his 13th year as a professional. Diaz is a full member of the Korn Ferry Tour right now.
