University of North Texas Athletics
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Ortiz Claims First PGA Win At Houston Open
11/8/2020 2:59:00 PM | Men's Golf
HOUSTON - Coming off the best season of his career on the PGA Tour, UNT men's golf alum Carlos Ortiz now has his first career victory on Tour.
The 2013 UNT graduate held off Hideki Matsuyama and Dustin Johnson to win the Vivint Houston Open after a final-round 65 gave him a two-shot victory at 13-under par. Ortiz was one of only three golfers in the field to break 70 in each of his four rounds to claim the victory - his first on the PGA Tour and his eighth top-10 finish. His previous-best finish was a 2nd-place finish at the Mayakoba Golf Classic earlier this year.
Ortiz, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, who now lives in Texas, said it was comforting knowing he had a crowd of people cheering for him in his adopted home state.
"It feels awesome. It's been a while since I've won, and man it feels good," Ortiz told the Golf Channel, choking back tears while his wife, Haley, looked on, also in tears. "I'm just happy to win here in Houston. I've always said Texas is like my second home state and there's a bunch of people here cheering for me - a bunch of Latinos and Mexicans and a lot of people from Texas, too. It was awesome being in front of them."
Ortiz started the day in the final pairing with Jason Day, who ended up tied for seventh at 7-under, and knew a red-hot Dustin Johnson would be on his tail throughout the day.
"It's a really hard golf course, so I was just trying to stay patient," Ortiz told the Golf Channel. "I was able to hit fairways today, so it's much easier from the fairways. I was just trying to mind my own business, hit it on the fairway and on the green and just make some putts. I made some huge putts on the front-nine, and that kickstarted my round. After that, I played really good. I didn't miss many shots."
Ortiz put an exclamation point on the round by finishing with a birdie on 18 - a hole he'd parred twice and bogeyed once on the week.
"That was amazing," Ortiz said. "Me and my caddie have been working really hard to stay patient and have a great attitude and stay positive, and I really did that this week and it paid off. I'm just happy with the way I played."
Ortiz now joins fellow UNT alum and former Mean Green teammate Sebastian Munoz as a PGA Tour winner, after Munoz claimed his first PGA Tour win in September 2019.
UNT head coach Brad Stracke said he was thrilled to see another one of his recent star players become a PGA Tour winner, thanks in large part to a shot on the par-5 16th that Stracke said he's seen plenty of times. He was 220 yards out on his second shot into the green and stuck it within six feet of the hole to set up a birdie putt.
"I'm so excited for Carlos and Haley," Stracke said. "I had a really good feeling he would hit a solid second shot on 16 - the par 5 - like he did so many times in college. What a clutch shot, and that was the difference in the tournament. Carlos Ortiz, we are all really proud of you!"
The 2013 UNT graduate held off Hideki Matsuyama and Dustin Johnson to win the Vivint Houston Open after a final-round 65 gave him a two-shot victory at 13-under par. Ortiz was one of only three golfers in the field to break 70 in each of his four rounds to claim the victory - his first on the PGA Tour and his eighth top-10 finish. His previous-best finish was a 2nd-place finish at the Mayakoba Golf Classic earlier this year.
Ortiz, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, who now lives in Texas, said it was comforting knowing he had a crowd of people cheering for him in his adopted home state.
"It feels awesome. It's been a while since I've won, and man it feels good," Ortiz told the Golf Channel, choking back tears while his wife, Haley, looked on, also in tears. "I'm just happy to win here in Houston. I've always said Texas is like my second home state and there's a bunch of people here cheering for me - a bunch of Latinos and Mexicans and a lot of people from Texas, too. It was awesome being in front of them."
Ortiz started the day in the final pairing with Jason Day, who ended up tied for seventh at 7-under, and knew a red-hot Dustin Johnson would be on his tail throughout the day.
"It's a really hard golf course, so I was just trying to stay patient," Ortiz told the Golf Channel. "I was able to hit fairways today, so it's much easier from the fairways. I was just trying to mind my own business, hit it on the fairway and on the green and just make some putts. I made some huge putts on the front-nine, and that kickstarted my round. After that, I played really good. I didn't miss many shots."
Ortiz put an exclamation point on the round by finishing with a birdie on 18 - a hole he'd parred twice and bogeyed once on the week.
"That was amazing," Ortiz said. "Me and my caddie have been working really hard to stay patient and have a great attitude and stay positive, and I really did that this week and it paid off. I'm just happy with the way I played."
Ortiz now joins fellow UNT alum and former Mean Green teammate Sebastian Munoz as a PGA Tour winner, after Munoz claimed his first PGA Tour win in September 2019.
UNT head coach Brad Stracke said he was thrilled to see another one of his recent star players become a PGA Tour winner, thanks in large part to a shot on the par-5 16th that Stracke said he's seen plenty of times. He was 220 yards out on his second shot into the green and stuck it within six feet of the hole to set up a birdie putt.
"I'm so excited for Carlos and Haley," Stracke said. "I had a really good feeling he would hit a solid second shot on 16 - the par 5 - like he did so many times in college. What a clutch shot, and that was the difference in the tournament. Carlos Ortiz, we are all really proud of you!"
Friday, November 04