Murray holds on at Barbasol for first TOUR title

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – PGA TOUR players will join LPGA stars and Puerto Rican athletes and celebrities for a special, unofficial PGA TOUR event in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Open Charity Pro-Am, this March 2-3, 2018. Held at TPC Dorado Beach, one of the Island’s 13 championship courses, the event and the destination’s readiness will be featured in a one-hour Golf Channel special airing March 20 at 8 p.m. ET, showcasing the Caribbean’s premier golf destination and home of the PGA TOUR’s Puerto Rico Open. The Puerto Rico Open, which celebrated 10 years of PGA TOUR golf in Puerto Rico in 2017, will return as a four-day, official PGA TOUR event in 2019 and also in 2020, thanks to the renewed sponsorship commitment from the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC). “The Island is open for Tourism and to be able to host this event is indicative of that, particularly because Puerto Rico is a premier destination for golf in the Caribbean,â€� said Puerto Rico Tourism Company’s Acting Executive Director, Carla Campos. “We are very pleased to have formalized an agreement with the PGA TOUR for the 2019 and 2020 Puerto Rico Open, as one of many initiatives that shows our commitment, along with Governor Ricardo Rosselló’s administration, to hosting renowned events on the Island for residents and visitors to enjoy.â€� The special pro-am will be a celebration of golf in Puerto Rico with a goal to raise $500,000 for Puerto Rico non-profits across the Island. The event has already received a $50,000 donation from 10-time PGA TOUR winner Bubba Watson, who planned to participate before he qualified for the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship after winning the Genesis Open. A number of other PGA TOUR tournaments have also contributed, with more expected to come. “We are thrilled to be hosting a special event this year,â€� said David H. Chafey, Board Chairman of the Puerto Rico Open. “We are thankful for all the support from the PGA TOUR, professional players, valued sponsors and celebrity friends to help us reach our fundraising goal that will support local non-profit organizations. Looking ahead, we are excited to come back as an official PGA TOUR event in 2019.â€� The event will feature past Puerto Rico Open champions D.A. Points (2017), George McNeill (2012) and Derek Lamely (2010). Puerto Rico’s own Rafael Campos, who plays on the Web.com Tour, will lend his support, alongside Maria Torres, who became the first Puerto Rican player to earn an LPGA TOUR card. Other players in attendance include Marc Turnesa, Julian Etulain, Brad Fritsch, Robert Gamez and Andres Romero, and from the LPGA, Belen Mozo, Giulia Molinaro, Cheyenne Woods, Amanda Blumenherst, Paula Reto, Veronica Felibert, Mariajo Uribe and Paola Moreno. The event will kick-off with a celebrity pro-am on Friday featuring an all-star line-up of former Major League Baseball players including Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudgeâ€� Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Baerga, Carlos Delgado, Jose Guzman, Placido Polanco and Benji Gil. Puerto Rican actor Raymond Arrieta and former professional boxer Miguel Cotto will also participate in the celebrity portion. Puerto Rico, which officially opened for Tourism December 20, 2017, is known as the premier location for golf professionals and enthusiasts in the Caribbean where golf enthusiasts travel from all over the world to play throughout the year on the Island’s 13 championship golf courses. TPC Dorado Beach is home to three legendary championship golf courses. The famous East and West Golf Courses were originally designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. Dorado Beach courses are located in a private seaside sanctuary along two miles of Puerto Rico’s northeastern shores, nestled within the former Rockefeller Estate’s magnificent landscaping. ABOUT PGA TOUR The PGA TOUR is the leading global platform in professional golf, showcasing the highest expression of excellence, both on and off the course. The PGA TOUR’s mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, grow and protect the game of golf and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players. The PGA TOUR co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR-China. Members on the PGA TOUR represent the world’s best players, hailing from 25 countries (84 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1.1 billion households in 227 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2016, tournaments across all Tours generated a record of more than $166 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to $2.46 billion. The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. ABOUT PUERTO RICO TOURISM COMPANY The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), founded in 1970, is a public corporation responsible for stimulating, promoting and regulating the development of the tourism industry. It markets Puerto Rico as a tourism destination through advertising, public relations and promotional activities; promotes tourism among visitors and local residents; provides visitor orientation and technical assistance to investors; evaluates tourism facilities and establishes standards of quality; and regulates and oversees gaming operations. PRTC has offices and representatives in the U.S. mainland, Canada, Europe and Latin America.

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Sam Ryder … Rookies struggle in crashing the field of 132 at TPC Scottsdale because the cutoff for entry usually lands near the top of the Web.com Tour graduate reshuffle category. So, when he got off to a slow start as a rookie in 2017-18, he didn’t come close to snaring a tee time. Now that he’s fully exempt for finishing inside the top 125 of the FedExCup, the hurdle is history. Even better, he aligns with the profile for success better than many who have been here before. He finished last season ranked T10 in total driving, second in greens in regulation and T16 in proximity to the hole. He also finished ninth in good drive percentage, a value reflecting a combination of fairways hit and greens or fringe in regulation on par 4s and par 5s. It’s a skill with which course co-collaborator and updater, Tom Weiskopf, was associated. You’ll also find it peppered throughout this week’s Sleepers. Ryder already is on the board this season with a pair of top fives, including a solo third at TPC Summerlin, another desert layout. Ted Potter Jr. … When the lefty is on his game, he’s splitting every fairway and going bonkers with the putter. Not long off the tee as compared to most of his peers, it helps explain why he’s able to prevail in tournaments like the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. which he’ll be defending next week. His one-two punch can inflict some damage at TPC Scottsdale as well. At 7,261 yards stretched out, it’s about average on the PGA TOUR. He connected four red numbers en route to a T24 in 2013, but hasn’t returned since missing the cut a year later. Currently fourth in good drive percentage, 22nd in driving accuracy and 21st in greens in regulation. Already has a pair of top 15s on suitable course for him this season – The Club at Nine Bridges and Waialae. Vaughn Taylor … No matter the existing design of TPC Scottsdale when he’s appeared and despite the five-year hiatus from the tournament until his return in 2017, he’s acquitted himself nicely over time. Overall, he’s 7-for-9 with a solo seventh and a pair of T11s, one of the latter of which last year. For all of 2017-18, he ranked 12th in good drive percentage. Took last week off after a T7 at the Desert Classic where he placed T8 in good drive percentage and T5 in putts per GIR. Brian Stuard … While his lone PGA TOUR victory occurred in the last edition of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans as an individual competition in 2016, which was shortened to 54 holes due to weather, he’s profiled best throughout his career in the tropics. A T8 at Waialae three weeks ago helped prove that point. However, TPC Scottsdale has been good to the veteran as he’s yet to miss a cut in five tries. His record includes a T10 in 2015 and a T16 in 2017. Finished last season ranked 18th in good drive percentage. Matthew Wolff … Of all the places where he could have splashed onto the PGA TOUR, he landed in a dandy. The 19-year-old sophomore at Oklahoma State University turns heads with his funky action. It’s a move that’s vaulted him to No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He walked off 2018 with two outright wins, a share of another title and a fourth-place finish at an amateur event at renown Royal Melbourne Golf Club. While a direct parallel to Jon Rahm is unfair to both golfers, it was in 2015 when the Spaniard placed T5 as an amateur at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, proving that the test is fair no matter the inexperience at this level. Wolff’s skill set can’t help but remain sharp given that one of his fellow Cowboys is 2018 U.S. Amateur champion Viktor Hovland, who sits No. 3 in the WAGR. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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