The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ortiz holds off Johnson, Matsuyama for victory
It’s first PGA Tour win by a Mexican golfer since 1978.
HOUSTON — Carlos Ortiz never doubted he could win any tournament no matter who he was facing, even if he didn’t have the trophies or the pedigree to prove it.
Nowhe does. Ortiz holed two long birdie putts from off the green to take the lead, then was rock- solid down the stretch and delivered the winning shots for a 5- under 65 and a two- shot victory in the Houston 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 a6- ironsogoodthe29- year- old
Mexican started walking after it on the par- 5 16th. Ortiz had to settle for a two- putt birdie from 8 feet and 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.”
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 finished at 13- under 267. The victory sends him to the Masters next April.
Johnson was making his first start since the U. S. Open after a positive coronavirus test knocked him out of the
CJ Cup at Shadow Creek and the Zozo Championship at Sherwood. After opening with a 72, Johnson rallied with two rounds of 66 and a closing65. Matsuyama briefly tied for the lead with birdies on the 16th and 17th, making a 15- footer on the 17th just moments before Ortiz made his birdie on the 16th. He narrowly missed a shot at a third straight birdie on the 18th and shot 63.