The First Look: World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba

VIDANTA VALLARTA, Mexico – Competition lies at the heart of the Ortiz family dynamic. Whether it’s sports, board games, video games or anything else, Carlos and Alvaro Ortiz – or their brother Alejandro and parents Chela and Carlos Sr. – want the edge. The Carlos-Alvaro rivalry entails a particular zest. “I’ve had many Nintendo controllers thrown at my head by him,” Carlos remarked of Alvaro. “Nintendo, FIFA, even the Tiger Woods game, the Formula 1 game right now … he used to break a controller per week, like, explode.” “What can I say,” Alvaro admitted. “I’m fiery.” The determination of Carlos and Alvaro has also propelled their golf careers. This week, they’re set to compete in the same PGA TOUR field at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, the event’s first playing as an official PGA TOUR event in its history dating back to 1944. No number of broken controllers, though, could fracture the brothers’ bond. Alvaro, five years Carlos’ junior, holds Korn Ferry Tour status for the first time this season by virtue of a fourth-place finish on the 2021 PGA TOUR Latinoamerica Order of Merit, which included a victory at the Mexico Open, contested at Estella del Mar. He’s following the example of Carlos, now an accomplished TOUR pro and winner of the 2020 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open. Carlos earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time in 2014 and thrived, winning three times to earn his first PGA TOUR card. The now-father of three returned to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2017, but he earned back his TOUR card in 2018 and has maintained a steady progression since. The brothers learned the game at an early age – “I don’t have any memories without golf,” Carlos said – and were quickly enthralled. “They’re similar in that they are both very competitive,” reflected mom Chela. “They knew from a very young age what they wanted to do. I remember, in elementary school, Carlos was like, ‘I’m going to be a professional golfer.’ “The problem with Carlos was that we didn’t know the path to college golf.” During Carlos’ adolescence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the progression of Mexican junior golfers to United States Division I golf was uncommon. The Ortiz family wasn’t as connected in the traditional circles of high-level junior golf; tips and tricks have been acquired and now shared with families of aspiring pro golfers across the country. At the time, they weren’t clued in regarding the best tournaments to draw exposure to a promising young player. Early on, Division I options were limited, but Carlos drew the attention of University of North Texas coach Brad Stracke – then in his first few months on the job – late in the recruiting process. Stracke had caught wind of scores in the low- to mid 60s at a junior event in Mexico and correctly deemed that Carlos had the potential to play as a freshman. “He didn’t have a lot of options, when it came his time to go to the States,” Chela remembered. “He had not played a lot in the United States, so there were not a lot of offers for him. So we went with the offer that we had, North Texas. It turned out pretty good. “He was not the first Mexican to go to college golf, but he was the first of this era that started breaking the paradigm of becoming a professional golfer and going to Division I college golf.” Once it became apparent that Alvaro was determined to follow in Carlos’ footsteps, the family had a roadmap. Alvaro played a robust schedule of high-level junior events across the United States – the family would take two-week trips at a time, integrating golf and sightseeing. He competed alongside the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland at junior events, and he received a variety of Division I offers, eventually selecting the University of Arkansas. As Alvaro completed his high school career and headed to Arkansas as a freshman, Carlos was thriving as a Korn Ferry Tour rookie. With the family unsure of the expenses needed to travel and compete on the Korn Ferry Tour, Carlos Sr. and Chela sold an investment condo, gaining a financial safety net in case the road was rocky. Carlos quickly rewarded his family’s belief. He finished third in his first Korn Ferry Tour start as a member, the 2014 Astara Golf Championship, and he won three events later at The Panama Championship. He added victories at the El Bosque Mexico Championship and Regular Season-ending WinCo Foods Portland Open, and he was off to the PGA TOUR. “It was a crazy season,” Alvaro remembers. “I was just signed for Arkansas and was getting ready for college … it was crazy how he played that season. I felt like every week, he had a chance to win. That really pushed me, going to college and trying to get better, trying to go out there as quick as I could. “And I remember he won the third one, the first week I got to Arkansas. It was pretty special, getting there and him getting his promotion to the PGA TOUR.” The brothers’ journeys have taken different timelines, but the bond endures, and they relish the occasions where paths cross. After Alvaro gained 2019 Masters entry via his victory at the Latin America Amateur Championship, Carlos caddied in the Par 3 Contest. (Alvaro proceeded to make the cut and finish T36.) Their playful dynamic is readily apparent. They traded barbs at a Tuesday press conference ahead of this week’s Mexico Open, and when asked to pose for photos on the first tee box Wednesday, they quickly leapt onto an adjacent bleacher and put their arms around each other. “We compete in anything, and I think that’s pushed us to be great,” Carlos said. “It’s always great when you have somebody to practice and share everything with. You work hard, and then when it’s your brother, it’s even better. “Yesterday, we finished playing and we went to a gym together and took a 10-minute ice, and we were both shaking and giving each other (crap) in the ice. Those kinds of experiences, it’s great to share them with your brother. I think that’s one of the reasons we have success and always kept improving, because we push each other.” They’ve helped push forward a country of aspiring young pros who aim to follow their path, as well.

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Russell Henley shot an 8-under 62 to take the lead Thursday in the suspended first round of the Wyndham Championship.

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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – Tiger Woods was 19 years old when he made his links debut at the 1995 Scottish Open at Carnoustie. As he stood on the range for the first time that week, he saw a 100-meter sign … and took dead aim. Using a variety of irons, he practiced the low-trajectory run-up shots needed to navigate this unfamiliar style of course, each time trying to hit that 100-meter sign, no matter the club loft. His dad Earl eventually spoke up, asking if Tiger was ever planning to hit a ball past the sign. “No, I’m just enjoying this,â€� replied Tiger. “Are you kidding me? This is the best.â€� Tiger told that story on Tuesday, a quick stroll down memory lane as he prepped for his first Open Championship start since 2015. It brought a smile to his face, as recalling the days of innocence often do. “I spent probably close to two hours on the range just hitting balls before I even went and played because I thought it was just the best, seeing the ball bounce and being creative and using my mind,â€� Woods said. It was a new experience for the then-U.S. Amateur champ, who grew up in Southern California where golf success relied on vertical – not horizontal — prowess. Getting to attempt a putt from 120 yards, which he did on the second hole of his practice round, was a thrill. So was trying to win a closest-to-the-pin wager with his dad on the eighth hole. “It stuck with me,â€� Tiger said. “You see I’m just telling the story now. Those little moments like that – that was my introduction to links golf. Carnoustie and St. Andrews. Doesn’t get any better than that.â€� Woods was a quick study that week, entering the final round in a tie for 12th before fading with a 78 that left him tied for 48th. His next two trips to Carnoustie were a little more productive – a T-7 at the 1999 Open and a T-12 in 2007. It wasn’t too long ago, though, that Woods thought he might never play another Open Championship because of his back issues that required four surgeries. His last appearance at St. Andrews did not go well – he finished the first two rounds at 7 over, missing the cut for just the second time in his Open career. Woods made just three more starts in 2015, then spent the ensuing two years in a holding pattern as the golf world wondered if he’d ever return – and to what form if he did. Woods, of course, is now back on a regular schedule, making his 12th start of the PGA TOUR season this week. He comes off a T-4 at the Quicken Loans National, his third top-10 finish, although he hasn’t contended in the first two majors – T-32 at the Masters and a missed cut at the U.S. Open. The Open Championship, which has produced three of his 14 career majors, might be his best bet now to add to that total. It gives him a chance to use his creativity – the thing that so excited him the first time he visited Carnoustie. “I love playing here, this type of links golf, or a style of links golf down on the Aussie sand belt,â€� said Woods, who will be the U.S. Team captain at The Presidents Cup next year at Royal Melbourne. “I enjoy this type of golf because it is creative. “We’re not going to get the most perfect bounces. A certain shot that is hit [and] you think is a wonderful shot down the middle of the fairway could bounce some weird way. That’s just part of it. And I think that’s the fun challenge of it. “Feel has a lot to do with playing The Open and I think the guys traditionally over the years who have done well have been wonderful feel players.â€� Tiger said his “feelsâ€� are much better now than at the start of the year, and that he has a better understanding of his game and swing than he did at Augusta National in April. The challenge at Carnoustie will be to utilize those feels on a course that is expected to be firm and fast due to unseasonably dry conditions in Scotland – although there was a brief shower on Tuesday as Tiger met the media. To adjust to the conditions – Woods said the fairways were actually running faster than the greens a few days ago – he has decided to stick a 2-iron with 17 degrees of loft in his bag this week. He intends to use the club as a driving iron because drivers are rolling too far out, as much as 80 yards, noted Woods. He added that 4- and 5-irons are running out beyond 50 yards; during a practice round Monday, Woods hit his 3-iron 333 yards off the 18th tee. “Going to be a real interesting test in how we’re going to manage our way around the golf course,â€� he said. Course management and creativity give Tiger hope that he’ll be an Open contender for at least another decade, perhaps longer. He noted Tom Watson nearly winning the 2009 Open at age 59, and Greg Norman holding the 54-hole lead at age 54 in 2008. Woods, now 42 years old, remains plenty long off the tee; he ranks 28th in driving distance with a 304.9-yard average. But he realizes at some point that his power will drop off. Fortunately, it’s not as big a detriment on a links-style course as it is at the big events in the U.S. “You go to places like Augusta National, where it’s just a big ballpark, and the golf course outgrows you,â€� he said. “That’s just the way it goes. But links-style golf course, you can roll the ball. … Even if I get a little bit older, I can still chase some wood or long club down there and hit the ball the same distance. “Distance becomes a moot point on a links-style golf course, but creativity plays such an important role.â€� Especially when you’re 19 years old and trying to bounce a ball off a 100-meter sign with a 4-iron.

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