Bulle getting comfortable at The Open

The PGA TOUR and tournament host, Grupo Salinas, announced today that Vidanta Vallarta in Vallarta, México will host the 2022 Mexico Open, April 25-May 1, 2022, previously listed on the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Schedule as the Mexico Championship. The Mexico Open, which dates back to 1944 and is considered Mexico’s national championship, will appear on the PGA TOUR schedule for the first time as an official FedExCup event, offering 500 FedExCup points to the winner and a purse of $7.3 million. The field of 132 players will include 12 sponsor exemptions, with a minimum of four players from Latin America. Since 2017, Grupo Salinas partnered with the PGA TOUR to stage a TOUR event in Mexico – the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship – with efforts to inspire and grow the game in the country, especially among juniors. Starting in 2022, the Mexico Open will continue Grupo Salinas’ commitment, uniting the PGA TOUR with the history of professional golf in Mexico in the form of the Mexico Open. The new name and tournament venue were announced during a press conference in Mexico City, Mexico, featuring Fernando Lemmen-Meyer, President of the Mexican Golf Federation; Iván Chávez, Executive Vice President of Grupo Vidanta; John Norris, Senior Vice President of Tournament Business Affairs of the PGA TOUR, and Benjamín Salinas Sada, Vice President of the Board of Directors of Grupo Salinas. Also in attendance were PGA TOUR members Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer. Both Ortiz (2020 Vivint Houston Open) and Ancer (2021 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational) captured PGA TOUR events during the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season, becoming just the third and fourth citizens of Mexico to win on the PGA TOUR. Ancer, who played for the International Presidents Cup Team in 2019, recently qualified for his third straight TOUR Championship in 2020-21, finishing ninth in the FedExCup. “At Grupo Salinas we are honored to host a world-class event in our country, reaffirming our commitment to grow golf in Mexico and to generate new interests and passions around this sport, especially in younger generations,” said Benjamín Salinas Sada, Vice president of the board of directors of Grupo Salinas. “For this reason, we are convinced of the importance of taking this type of events to other locations within the country and thereby sending a clear message; golf is not owned by just a few, it belongs to everyone: that is what we will always defend at Grupo Salinas.” The press conference highlighted the progress of The First Tee México program, a non-profit organization, launched by Grupo Salinas in 2017, which has promoted golf and its values for the development of Mexican young generations. The First Tee Mexico has grown to include nine chapters and has made a positive impact on more than 250 young people through the game of golf, promoting key societal values such as honesty, respect, trust, integrity, perseverance and teamwork. “We’ve worked closely with Grupo Salinas since the inception of the Mexico Championship in 2017. As tournament hosts, Grupo Salinas has been first-class in every respect – making this stop a favorite among our players while entertaining fans in Mexico and around the world,” said John Norris, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President of Tournament Business Affairs. In the United States, the event will be broadcast live on CBS, Golf Channel, PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ and Sirius XM PGA TOUR Radio.

Click here to read the full article…

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre has made plans for another late-night gaming session after carding a six-under-par 66 to take a share of the halfway lead at the British Masters on Thursday.

Click here to read the full article…

The first time admittedly was tough. And the second? “It was suffering from the get-go,â€� Camilo Villegas says. With those words came a smile of satisfaction, though. After all, the uber-fit Villegas enjoys testing his limits – and that’s exactly what he did that day when he rode with countryman Santiago Botero. Botero is a former professional cyclist from Colombia who has competed in the Tour de France three times – even winning a stage and donning the famous polka dot jersey for capturing its mountains classification in 2000. Botero represented his country in the Olympic Games four years later, too, the same year Villegas became a golf pro. Villegas was home in Medellin that day and had called a friend to see if he wanted to join him for a ride. His buddy showed up with Botero, the former individual time trial world champion who has since become one of Villegas’ close friends.  Suffice it to say their ride that day in 2007 was a bit more challenging than the 37-mile climb up the hill behind his home that Villegas took the first time he got on a bike. And he absolutely loved it. The passion born that day has continued. In fact, Villegas – who has inspirational tattoos saying “Attitudeâ€� and “Positive Energyâ€� on his right and left wrists, respectively — has been known to say that he has “obsessive cycling disorder.â€� When Villegas got back to his home in Jupiter, Florida, after those initial rides, he bought a bike. He doesn’t take it with him to tournaments – Villegas does spin classes and elliptical and cardio to stay in shape – but his off weeks are a different story. When the Colombian is at home in the Sunshine State, he usually rides five times a week. Tuesday and Thursdays, he bikes about 35-40 miles per day. The weekend when most of us rest are his big days – he’ll ride about 75 miles on Saturday and 60 or so on Sunday. Villegas’ longest ride? Well, he estimates that was 130 miles. And how long does it take? “It all depends,â€� he says. “You do the math. If you’re going solo and average about 22, 23 miles an hour.  If I’m going with a group, the group gets rolling around 26, 29, 30. “If you go to Colombia, it’s going to take a longer time.  If you go in Florida, it’s going to be a lot faster because it’s flat.â€� A ride that long, though, certainly isn’t the norm. Get close to 100 miles in a day and Villegas says your day is basically over. “You don’t have energy to do much more,â€� he explains.  And fatigue certainly doesn’t help Villegas’ golf game. The 36-year-old Colombian, who earned a degree in business from the University of Florida, is one of the most fit players on the PGA TOUR. Cycling is just one part of his workout, though. “You’ve got to mix it with a lot of things,â€� he says. “Obviously, when you start cycling so much, you’re going to get a pretty tight IT band and hamstrings and stuff.  You have got to balance it out.  “When I’m on the road, obviously, I do weights and a lot of explosive stuff and I do a lot of stretching and mobility.  No, it’s my peaceful spot, but the workout portion of golf-related stuff is another thing.â€� Villegas has developed a tight circle of friends who ride – both in Jupiter and his childhood home — many of whom are professional cyclers. He’s never ridden with Paul Casey, a TOUR player who rides seriously, but they talk about the sport frequently and he plans a trip  to the Italian Alps in 2018 that is similar to the one that the Brit took several years ago. No matter where he rides, though, Villegas enjoys the experience. The physical factor is obviously a part of it but he also finds a mental benefit to the journey. “It kind of keeps me in balance just because it’s a quiet spot,â€� Villegas  explains. “We come out here, there’s a lot going on.  I go home, I have family and friends, a little more social life.  “When I hop on the bike, I just try to follow a wheel or make the boys follow my wheel.  There’s a lot going on, but it’s a quiet spot.â€�

Click here to read the full article…