Sebastian

Munoz

Munoz just had an emotional few days of battling with the World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at the Presidents Cup. It was Munoz who got the better end of those duels and he left Quail Hollow with a lot of confidence, despite his team not winning the event. The North Texas product won the 2019 edition of the Sanderson Farms Championship but he won’t make the trip this week. Gamers should be quick to reinvest when he returns to action as this WD is likely just to recharge his batteries after a big week, not injury related.

Munoz lost three of the first six holes but didn’t hang his head. Instead, he birdied the par-4 eighth to start a rally that included wins on five of the final 11 holes. The highlight of this match came at the par-4 11th where Munoz holed out for eagle then Scheffler poured in an eagle of his own, from 61-feet (just off the green). How much will this help Munoz and his confidence moving forward? “It was tough. I had to really focus. Probably one of the best things I ever achieved in my life. Playing this week, holding off him two times this week. It took everything. I threw everything at him, and luckily we got a win.” Munoz ends the week with an impressive 2.5 points to his name while Scheffler struggled all week, finding just half a point in four matches played.

Munoz ended his season with five straight finishes outside of the top 30 but it was still a strong campaign with a trio of top 5s to his name. Next up is a debut in team competition and the Texan feels mentally prepared. " I’ve been training my mind a little bit, you know, trying to take, like, some ice plunges and trying to get in uncomfortable situations and being able to hold in there, just to be able to push, just to be able to know that I’m not as fragile as I may think.” Munoz is known somewhat as a quiet assassin who can get on hot streaks as well as anyone. He said he would love to play with Mito Pereira at some point this week but they have not been practicing together so it may not be in the cards this time around. Munoz played with Sungjae Im on Tuesday so that may be a pairing we see at some point this week. The first session matchups will be revealed at 4pm ET today.

The notification from the TOUR did not provide a reason for the adjustment, but inclement weather is in the forecast. World No. 56 Sebastian Munoz earned himself a later time with a 5-under 33-32=65 in R3, climbing 23 places on the live leaderboard to T10, the 65 currently tied for the third-best lap of the day. On 11 (of 13) fairways and 14 greens in regulation, he camouflaged a double bogey-6 at 5 (failed scramble) with seven birdies at 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17, two from between 10 and 24 feet. Thru 54 holes, the North Texas alum has posted rounds of 69-70-65 (6-under 204), totaled 13 birdies against five bogeys and a double, and at last check, ranks 15th SG: Tee-to-Green (6.502) and 30th SG: Putting (2.073), including a 1.850 SGP in R3. This is his third Canadian Open after a T32 on debut in 2017 during his rookie campaign (Glen Abbey GC), and a T11 in 2019 (Hamilton G&CC), where he closed with a bogey-free, 6-under 64.

Last week at TPC Craig Ranch, the 29-year-old Munoz carded a 60 in the first round and led or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds before shooting 69 on Sunday to finish two strokes back of winner K.H. Lee. Munoz also shot 60 in the first round of the RSM Classic, where he finished solo third, four back of winner Talor Gooch. He was T-33 at the Players Championship after starting the final round in the final group, but he shot 77 to fall back. On the season, Munoz has made 11 cuts in 16 starts with three top 10s, including a T-4 at the Zozo Championship. He’s made two previous appearances in the PGA, missing the cut in 2020 and 2021. With six Latino players in the field, Munoz said they share a special bond and recognize the sport is growing in South America and beyond. “We are good friends,” he said. “We talk about more than golf and each other’s lives, but we are still competitive. I feel anyone who is doing the best, everyone try to target them and try to emulate what they are doing. But yeah, the sport is definitely growing in our direction. I feel like we are showing some strong performances and hopefully more to come.” Click link below for full comments.

The North Texas alum, who led by four after R1 and co-led after R2, sees his record as an 18-, 36- and 54-hole leader/co-leader fall to 0-for-7, 0-for-3 and 1-for-4, respectively. On Sunday, he opened with bogey-5 at hole 1 (failed scramble), conjured four birdies at 8, 10, 12 (missed eagle from 6'1") and 14, and lost 0.690 SG: Total, including -1.681 SG: Putting, while Lee whizzed by with a career-low 63 to successfully defend his title. For the week, the 29-year-old carded rounds of career-tying-low, course-record 60, 69-66-69, totaled three eagles and 23 birdies versus five bogeys, and ranked 9th SG: Tee-to-Green (8.061), 0.991 TTG in R4, and 11th SGP (4.074), despite a forgettable Sunday with the flat stick. This was his fourth Nelson and second top 10 (T10/2019), his third top 10 of the season in 16 events, and his sixth career podium in 119 starts, second of the season after a solo 3rd at the RSM back in November (nine starts ago), where he was also an 18-hole leader. To the Colombian’s credit, he did stop for a brief interview afterward (link below), despite the disappointing result.

The Colombian and North Texas alum, who was also the R1 leader (by four), will be in the final threesome again on Sunday, this time with AT&T athlete and Dallas native Jordan Spieth, and Chilean and good friend Joaquin Niemann, scheduled for 11:30 am local. After kicking off with a course-record, career-tying-low 60 and 69, he was matched at the halfway mark by Ryan Palmer and rookie David Skinns, who Munoz beat today by four and eight shots, respectively, and regains the perch alone after Saturday’s effort. On eight (of 14) fairways and 16 greens in regulation, the 29-year-old camouflaged one bogey-5 at 16 (failed scramble) with five birdies at 2, 9, 10, 12 and 14, and a hole-out eagle-2 at six from a greenside bunker. This is his fourth 54-hole lead/co-lead in 119 events, all of them outright leads, is previously 1-for-3 converting, and is vying for a second TOUR title, first since the 2020 Sanderson Farms 72 starts ago, where he was the 54-hole leader by one, shot 2-under 70, and prevailed in a 2-man, 1-hole playoff over Sungjae Im (66). See link below to post-round comments.

The North Texas alum opened with a career-tying-low, course-record 60 to lead by four, becoming the first player in TOUR history to shoot 60 twice in one season. Out of the late wave today, he went out in 1-over (2 bogeys, 1 birdie) to drift down the board, but battled back with a 4-under home half, circling 1, 5, 6 and 8. On eight (of 14) fairways and 14 greens in regulation, the 29-year-old lost strokes on approach (-0.960) and around-the-green (-0.817), but gained 0.415 off-the-tee and 1.428 with the flat stick. This is his third career 36-hole lead/co-lead in 119 events, previously 0-for-2 converting, and first since the 2017 Greenbrier, where he led by three before finishing a then-career-best T3 (61-67-68-72), two shy of debutant and first-time TOUR winner Xander Schauffele. See link below to post-round comments.

Munoz piped 12-of-14 fairways and landed 16 greens in regulation today. He walked off the course gaining more than 4 strokes over the field in the approach department as well as the putting department. “It’s a great feeling whenever everything is clicking, hitting the tee shots, ball is coming out in the window that you imagined, the putts, that you’re reading good the putts. The speed. When everything is going it’s just stay out of the way and just kind of let it happen.” Highlights included a 25'9" birdie bomb at the fifth and a 15'5" eagle splash at the ninth. This will be his second round of 60 this season (R1 of RSM Classic) and shaping up to be the seventh first-round lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR.