Carlos

Ortiz

Ortiz posted ho-hum traditional stats (9-of-14 fairways, 14 GIR) but actually walked off the course ranked 9th in strokes gained off-the-tee and 21st on approach. It was a relatively stress-free round other than two key par-savers from 14 feet. All six of his birdies were dropped home from inside of nine feet including a pair of tap-ins. Ortiz posted a runner-up finish at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in the fall but has gone nine straight starts without a top-30 finish since then. This isn’t his first taste of success at TPC Craig Ranch as he twirled a T21 here last year.

The 31-year-old Ortiz arrives at Vidanta Vallarta Resort in Nuevo Vallarta off a stretch of four straight missed cuts, and he explained to media on Tuesday that he’s faces a few health issues along the way. “Honestly, it’s been up and down,” said Ortiz, whose lone PGA Tour win came at the 2020 Houston Open. “I’ve been battling through first a shoulder injury and then a kidney stone, so I’m finally getting healthy. I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m finally in good shape. I feel good. There’s no excuses now.” In the Tour’s last trip to Mexico, Ortiz finished second in the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, four strokes behind winner Viktor Hovland. At the WM Phoenix Open, Ortiz aced the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale during the final round, sending the appreciative crowd into celebratory chaos. Ortiz said he’s especially looking forward to competing this week against his brother, Alvaro, who won the 2021 Mexico Open title when it was part of the PGA Tour LatinoAmerica schedule. “We’ve competed not only in golf, but in everything,” he explained. “And as competitive as I am, it’s been great for us. I think that’s pushed us to be better and work harder.”

Hoping a few weeks away from competition will help, Ortiz readies for his fifth showing at the RBC Heritage. 3-for-4 missing the cut, the Mexican has been unable to collect a paycheck in the month of April in Hilton Head Island. Coming into this year’s tournament off three consecutive missed cuts, Ortiz’s short game has let him down time and time again. Specifically, during the Florida Swing where outside of The PLAYERS Championship, the 30-year-old bled strokes to the field in said category. With five missed cuts to his name in the 2021-22 season, Ortiz will attempt to garner a bit of consistency as the long summer months loom large.

Plenty has changed since last year when it comes to Ortiz’s game. Arriving to Scottsdale off a win the prior fall, a top-15 finish at the Sony Open, and as the 54-hole leader the week before at the Farmers Insurance Open, the Mexican continued his strong play, eventually finishing in a tie for fourth. Fast forward to the present and it appears the 30-year-old is still finding his footing after dealing with a shoulder injury in the fall. While he was able to finish runner-up to Viktor Hovland at the WWT Championship, Ortiz has since struggled in the new year, missing the cut at The American Express and finishing in a tie for 70th at the Farmers Insurance Open. With career scoring average of 69.61 at TPC Scottsdale, Ortiz’s three most recent finishes in the WM Phoenix Open read T-60, T-25, T-4. Priced at $7,000 on DraftKings and +12500 at PointsBet Sportsbook, course history truthers may be inclined to give Ortiz a chance despite his recent play.

In between the shoulder concerns, Carlos Ortiz put together an extremely strong showing at the World Wide Technology Championship. Finishing runner-up to Viktor Hovland at Mayakoba, the Mexican captured his best result since his maiden victory at the 2021 Houston Open. Unable to defend his title at Memorial Park, he now appears rested and healthy as he is set for his fifth appearance at PGA West. Failing to find his footing in his first two attempts, Oritz has collected a paycheck in his latter two appearances and could be primed to improve on such efforts. Possessing a mixed bag in the desert, the 30-year-old can take solace in knowing he has potential in this setting as a fast finish at TPC Scottsdale propelled him to the top-5 result at the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Ortiz pieced together rounds of 67-68-67-65 last year at Memorial Park to win the Houston Open by two shots. It was his first career win on the PGA TOUR. On top of that, he managed a runner-up finish last week at El Camaleon. He would have surely been a popular selection for betters and fantasy gamers this week, given those trends. However, his body has other plans. “I’ve been battling a shoulder injury since Japan. I went to the doctor this morning and he recommended that I not play and I take time to recover, so I think I’m going to take his advice... so I can start healthy in January.” If Ortiz can manage a runner-up finish while battling this shoulder injury, gamers should not hesitate to reinvest when he returns to action in 2022.

The Guadalajara native began solo 4th, five back of leader and defender Hovland, and had fallen off the map with an even-par first half (1 birdie, 1 bogey). He stormed back to life with five birdies coming in, highlighted by four straight at 12-15, and then banged in an improbable par-saver from distance at the last to secure the runner-up finish alone. The North Texas alum records his fourth top 10s in eight visits, three straight, ending each of those with 66’s, and second runner-up. Overall, it’s his fourth top-3 finish in 145 events, first since his maiden (and lone) TOUR title 27 starts ago at the Houston Open, which is this coming week’s event. For the festivities, the 30-year-old carded laps of 67-65-67-66, totaled 25 birdies against four bogeys and a double, and ranked 2nd in putts per GIR (1.478). See link below to post-round comments, which interestingly, don’t include any mention of the sore shoulder that he had been nursing.

The Guadalajara native, who’s nursing a sore shoulder, defends his lone TOUR title at next week’s Houston Open but could go ahead and take care of the winning business tomorrow out of the penultimate pairing with top-ranked Justin Thomas. He came from one back (T2) last year at Memorial Park with bogey-free 5-under 65 to win by two, and his best here at El Camaleon GC is 65 (x3), and he’s going to need something akin to that (probably lower) in order to hoist a second trophy. Thru 54 holes, the North Texas alum has posted rounds of 67-65-67, tallied 19 birdies, T3 in that stat, against three bogeys and a double, and ranks toward the bottom in greens in regulation at 62.96 percent (34/54) but No. 1 in putts per GIR (1.471).

In his prior start two weeks ago at the ZOZO in Japan, the Guadalajara native was T35 on 1-over (68-73) thru 36 and then WD (shoulder) prior to R3, his first mid-tourney WD in 144 events. This week, he’s opened 67-65, today’s 65 matching his best at El Camaleon GC (x3), and remarked post-round that (the shoulder) is, “A little sore, it’s still bothering (me) a little bit. Keep grinding. It’s a good golf course to kind of bunt it around, that’s what I did today and it worked out perfect.” The North Texas alum, who is currently one back of overnight leader and the leader on the course Matthew Wolff, has never held a 36-hole lead/co-lead, yet. His highest position thus far is T2 (2 back) at last season’s Houston Open at Memorial Park GC, where he went on to a 2-shot victory for his maiden (and lone) TOUR title (67-68-67-65) as a pre-tourney 150/1 outright. See link below to post-round comments.