Vallarta, Jalisco.- A third of the Mexican delegation participating in the Mexico Open at Vidanta 2022 managed to make the cut and generate expectations about an outstanding position, however, in the end, none could even place within the Top 30. Of the 10 compatriots who had managed to qualify, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Roberto Díaz, Álvaro Ortiz, Isidro Benítez, Armando Favela, Manuel Inman, Santiago De la Fuente, Cristóbal Islas and Antonio Safa, only Ancer and the Ortiz brothers managed to reach the day of four days, including the finals, but their final result did not leave them satisfied.
“I think we have enough golf to be fighting for victory, but in the end the three of us go out there not a little disappointed, but with the desire to have been at the top, because we know we have what it takes. Hopefully next year there won’t be only three of us who can be fighting”, evaluated Abraham Ancer, who together with Álvaro Ortiz finished in 42nd position, being the best Mexicans in the tournament.
Ancer entered as the favorite of the national delegation by occupying number 20 in the world ranking, the highest of the 10 Mexicans. After falling seven places in the classification of the Mexico Open from Saturday to Sunday, the Tamaulipas was harsh in his self-criticism.
“I feel like I played pretty mediocre, really. This is all my fault because the people who came to support us were amazing, so it was amazing to be here, they were always rooting for us. I leave disappointed, you always want to play well at home, a little more than every week, but that’s the way it is, maybe you have to arrive with a little less expectations and I always try not to set expectations for myself, but just play, but you have to review what happened and work on it”.
Although they finished in the same position, Ancer and Álvaro Ortiz differ in the impact they left on the Mexico Open. While the man from Tamaulipas insisted on his poor performance, the man from Jalisco was happy because he came close to the Top 10 in just his eighth participation in a PGA Tour tournament. His enthusiasm was so high that he even joked that being above his brother in the final standings (Carlos Ortiz was T51) made the afternoon “a little sweeter” on Sunday.
“It leaves me with good feelings, it’s a shame about today (he fell 12 positions on Sunday), but I’m very happy to have been able to play the weekend, to be here with my family, my friends, in an incredible place, it was a bittersweet ending but I take many positive things with me to give to the rest of what follows in the season. In the end this was like every tournament, it’s not that this one leaves me with more learning than others, they are all a journey, experiences in each round and, with a lot of patience, I hope that both this tournament and others give me a little more momentum and experience within the PGA Tour”, stressed the youngest of the Ortiz brothers.
The best Latin American golfer in the tournament was the Colombian Sebastián Muñoz, who finished in 29th position, followed by the Argentine Emiliano Grillo in 33rd; then came the Mexican legion with Abraham Ancer and Álvaro Ortiz in 42nd, while Carlos Ortiz finished in 51st.
Despite being far from the top positions and the disappointment of his personal performance, Ancer stressed that the organization gave opportunity to young Mexicans, particularly De la Fuente, Islas and Safa, who are still in the amateur category and are between 18 and 20 years old. year old.
What legacy do you think the Mexico Open at Vidanta leaves behind for Mexican golf?
“The truth is that tournaments like this, although obviously we have few, only two on the PGA Tour in Mexico, are super valuable opportunities for the kids. Even if they didn’t make the cut, it doesn’t matter, I would have given a lot to be able to have the opportunity from the age of 18 or 20 to play a PGA Tour tournament and realize early in my career what it takes to be here, learning is super valuable. Maybe right now they are a little shaken for not making the cut, but it will help them a lot in their career. As for golf in general, I think this tournament was a great plus, this sport is simply growing in Mexico,” Ancer replied to El Economista.
For Álvaro Ortiz, Mexican golf is experiencing a high moment and the Vallarta tournament consecrated the optimal actions that private initiatives are carrying out to promote this sport: “I think we have to continue doing the same, continue supporting youth, that’s where the future really is. The future of golf and any sport in Mexico is to sow good seeds, the juniors, so we have to invest and companies like Unifin, Vidanta and Grupo Salinas itself are doing a great job so that there are more of us and that in a few years there won’t be Let’s not only be 10 Mexicans in a PGA Tour tournament, but 20 or 30 in a decade, that’s what’s important and what we should focus on”.
The perception also came from international eyes, since the Argentine Emiliano Grillo shared a similar opinion to this newspaper: “The truth is that Mexico, little by little and also at an advanced level, is putting itself on the world golf map, so I would like to see more tournaments in this country. At a Latin American level, obviously Mexico is one of the countries that are higher up, they currently have two tournaments on the PGA Tour and not many places can say that”.