The last player from Mexico to win the Mexico Open? Alvaro Ortiz.
Where does Ortiz sit after the second round of the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidanta? Tied for first.
Ortiz, who won the Mexico Open in 2021 when it was a PGA Tour Latinoamerica event, shot 7-under 64, a career best, on Friday to move into a share of first at Vidanta Vallarta alongside Englishman Matt Wallace, Finland’s Sami Valimaki and American Jake Knapp. Ortiz is a member of the Korn Ferry Tour and is making his 10th PGA Tour start this week. It’s his fourth made cut, however, the 28-year-old who played collegiately at Arkansas would have a historic and breakthrough win if he were to claim the Mexico Open title for the second time in four years.
The tournament is the national open of Mexico, but it’s only the third year it has been a PGA Tour event. Like when Nick Taylor won the Canadian Open last summer, it just means more when a national is able to capture their home open. The same can be said for Ortiz if he were to capitalize this weekend. He would become only the second Mexican ever to win his national open twice, joining Ernesto Perez Acosta.
Mexico Open: Photos
“From tee to green it was as good as it could be,” Ortiz said. “I hit the ball very well and just felt very comfortable out there. It was very clean, very stress free and I was glad to be able to make that eagle on 6. I feel like I was losing a little bit of momentum leaving a couple putts go, but it was good to get that one back. Happy to be in the position you I’m in.”
Ortiz birdied every other hole on his first nine, the back nine at Vidanta Vallarta, going out in 5-under 31. Then on the back nine, he had a clean card with eight pars and an eagle coming on the par-5 sixth hole to sign for his 64.
As far as any added pressure this weekend?
“No, it’s more fun, it’s more fun,” he said. “I don’t get to do that often. As many people, the yelling, it’s fun. I don’t get that much in the States, but it’s pretty cool to see how many people are coming and hopefully it will be packed this weekend.”
He’s not the only Mexican having a strong week, either. Amateur Santiago De la Fuente, who won the Latin America Amateur Championship in January, sits at 6 under and T-9 heading to the weekend.
The duo has plenty of similarities. They’ve both won the LAAC, with Ortiz placing in the top five four times in five appearances at the event. Ortiz and his brother, Carlos of the LIV Golf League, are the last two Mexican players to tee it up in the Masters (Ortiz in 2019, Carlos in 2021) since Victor Regalado in 1979. De la Fuente will add his name to the list this April.
Here are four more things to know from the second round of the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidanta:
Don't take a Knapp
Jake Knapp is a PGA Tour rookie, but he has a swing so smooth it will make you want to copy it next time you take it to the course.
He tied Ortiz with a 7-under 64 on Friday to sit tied for the lead going to the weekend. He had a birdie putt on his final hole for a solo lead but couldn’t knock it in.
“I drove it really well again and then struck the ball really, really well,” Knapp said. “Didn’t have my best day on the greens, but struck the ball really well, gave myself a ton of chances. Was pretty stress free for the most part.”
Knapp had three straight birdies on Nos. 6-8 on the front nine, and he is first this week in Strokes Gained: Approach, gaining nearly seven shots on the field. He’s second Off the Tee, having a dominant performance from tee to green.
He has hit all but three fairways and all but four greens through 36 holes. Even losing strokes around the green and on them, he still finds himself in contention heading to the weekend.
“Just don’t feel like the ball’s not starting on the correct line right now for whatever reason,” Knapp said. “So just go over there hit a couple putts, confirm a few things. Greens are tough to read out here, they’re pretty grainy, it’s windy today, so afternoon round greens get a little wobbly. So not going to overthink anything, just want to see a few go in and call it a night.”
How about the other leaders?
Wallace and Valimaki are both European, but they’re in two different stages of their PGA Tour careers.
Wallace is a winner, breaking through last year at the Corales Puntacana Championship. Meanwhile, Valimaki is a rookie, earning his card for finishing in the top 10 last year on the DP World Tour season-long points race.
Yet both are in the same spot heading to the weekend: tied for the lead.
Wallace got there via a 6-under 65, including a 5-under 30 on his final nine holes. After some slow starts to rounds to begin the season, Wallace and his caddie came up with a formula to try to combat that.
“We find ourselves behind the 8 ball, and then we’ve played really well on Fridays because we’ve been determined to get the score back. So we kind of came up with a system of like starting over par so we’ve already played one round, right? To make the cut, you’ve got to get yourself into it,” Wallace said.
“So yesterday was 4 over, and we managed to shoot 1 under, which is 5 under, and today it was 3 over. It’s not nice standing on that 10th tee 3 over already. Then I bogeyed it, so I was 4 over so I had to get it back. That sort of determination and focus really helped.”
Meanwhile, Valimaki had seven birdies and three bogeys in a 4-under 67. In four events this season, his best finish is T-41 at the WM Phoenix Open. He had a wrist injury coming in, so he’s thrilled with his start.
“I wasn’t actually sure Wednesday evening that we (were) going to start the tournament,” Valimaki said. “I had a good attitude over there, especially yesterday, and today I keep fighting in the end.”
First-round leader Erik van Rooyen, who won the last Tour event in Mexico in the fall, shot 2-under 69 on Friday and sits a shot back of the lead pack.
Checking in on the defending champ
Tony Finau has had plenty of success at Vidanta Vallarta, finishing runner-up and hoisting the trophy in his two appearances in Mexico.
This year, he’s not quite off to as strong of a start as the past two years, but his finish Friday helped him get well into contention heading to the weekend.
Finau made two eagles on the back nine, including on the closing par-5 18th, to move to 6 under for the tournament, five back of the leaders. His first eagle came thanks to a chip-in on the par-5 12th hole. The second was after he stuck his approach from 237 yards out to 8 feet.
“That was huge to finish like that, get myself right back in striking distance with 36 to go,” Finau said. “Kind of a sloppy day. Outside of the eagles, kind of a sloppy day, but obviously eagles make up for it pretty fast. To have two eagles kind of on my last seven holes really kept me in the golf tournament, so that was nice to finish that way.”
Aces galore for Rafael Campos
Rafael Campos has had an unforgettable week at Vidanta.
On Tuesday during a practice round, he aced the par-3 13th hole. Then on Friday, he had yet another ace.
Campos made a one on the par-3 17th hole, hitting a 5-iron to the 226-yard hole. He was begging his ball to clear the water, and when it bounced, it slowly trundled across the green and eventually into the hole. It’s his first ace on Tour.
Hole-in-one for @RafaCamposGolf ‼️
He cards a 1️⃣ at the 226-yard par-3 17th @MexicoOpenGolf.
(Presented by @CocaCola) pic.twitter.com/D1l7PgcKvV
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 23, 2024
“Honesty, I missed it,” Campos said. “I thought it was in the water, so I just kept on saying, ‘please get over the water, get in the bunker.’ Fortunately, clubs are made for when you hit it fat, it comes out low without spin, so it actually flew the bunker.
“Once we saw it bounce, it was a sigh of relief for a second. Then when we saw it roll in, we were like I think this might have a chance. So that was an extra bonus for sure to see it go in. It’s ironic, it’s the second one this week. I had one on Tuesday on 13 playing with Nate Lashley, and I’m like I haven’t done that in 10 years. So to have two in the span of four days, that’s been pretty amazing for me.”
The ace helped Campos shoot 4-under 67 on Friday, and he sits at 5-under 137 heading into the weekend.
