Sebastian Munoz leads the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD

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Fabián Gómez couldn’t think straight. In any normal circumstance, the two-time PGA TOUR winner would have been focused on a second consecutive top-25 finish. A first-round 67 at the John Deere Classic had once again propelled him into contention, and another solid week could push him into the conversation for the FedExCup Playoffs. And yet, his mind was elsewhere. Patito. As the Argentine stalked the sixth fairway at TPC Deere Run, a lifetime of memories began flooding back. From their first steps together in Chaco, Argentina, to the moments they shared in elementary school and beyond, everything led Gómez back to one of his closest friends and confidants. Mere hours before starting the second round of the John Deere Classic, Gómez received the heartbreaking news that his friend, Hugo “Patito” Aguirre had died in Argentina. He was the latest victim of COVID-19. The 42-year-old did his best to play through the pain. But when the inevitable eventually arrived, and Gómez just couldn’t bear it anymore, he began to cry on the sixth green. His playing partners, Josh Teater and Cameron Percy, didn’t quite understand what was happening. Gómez decided there was no point in continuing, the pain too great to keep going without any source of comfort around him. He explained the situation to his colleagues and withdrew from the tournament. This week, the Argentine paid tribute to his friend at the Barbasol Championship, where he donated $500 for each birdie he made at Keene Trace Golf Club toward the Aguirre family. The Argentine forged a deep, personal relationship with Aguirre, and—understanding the economic needs his wife, Carina, and their two young daughters now face—knew this was the best way he could provide for his friend. “The idea came that Friday night, and I liked it because I really wanted to play well for him,” Gómez said Friday morning. “I have a double motivation, to not only go out and make birdies but to play to win.” Gómez opened the Barbasol Championship with a 3-under 69, which included four birdies. He struggled on Friday en route to a 2-over 74, but three more birdies still managed to bring his total donation to $3,500 for the week. “(Thursday) wasn’t a very good day with all of the suspensions,” Gómez said prior to Friday’s round, “but the thought was always on making birdies, because I know I’m playing for him and his family.” Gómez and Aguirre were together for most of their lives. They lived just a few blocks away from the famed Chaco Golf Club in Northeast Argentina, an area of high temperatures and sparse economic resources but with ample will to get ahead. In addition to Gómez, Chaco Golf Club has produced PGA TOUR winners in José Cóceres and Emiliano Grillo. The two friends took their first swings on that course, where they began to love the game and learn its secrets by carrying clubs every time they left for school. Aguirre was the first to pursue bigger opportunities, eventually moving to Los Cardales, some 40 miles north of Buenos Aires. He then successfully encouraged Fabián to join him under the lure of the countless golf courses in the area that could help his transition to professional golf. Every Monday, the pair had an almost obligatory appointment together at the nearby La Orquídea Golf Club, where Aguirre had gotten a job as a “Master-Caddie.” As the years went by and Gómez began to make a name for himself among South American professionals, the club became not just Gómez’s home course, but a seemingly second home for he and Patito to make memories together. Gómez hopes to pay Patito back once more at La Orquídea, where he plans to organize a benefit tournament in the future. “I am going to collect different golf prizes in the tournaments that I play from now on,” he said. “I do not think I will be able to travel to it due to the pandemic in my country and all of the flights being canceled, but I plan to send them prizes.” Gómez, of course, was destined for bigger things. A successful PGA TOUR career, which has culminated in more than 200 events across nine seasons, eventually led him to settle in Miami in 2017, far away from his people and his good friend. But every time he had the chance to return to Argentina, he always reserved time for an “asado” (barbecue) with his buddy Patito. Now, after processing the immediate grief of his longtime friend and confidant, Gómez will look for more ways to help erase the burden Aguirre’s family faces. He’ll do it all for his best friend. That alone is of enormous value. He’ll do it for Patito.

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