Carlos Ortiz (-22) has achieved victory in the International Series tournament of the Asian Tour held this week in Macao. The Mexican golfer, aged 33, completed a great Sunday of golf with a round of 64 strokes, winning by three strokes over Patrick Reed (-19) and sealing his second title on the Asian tour, following his triumph just over a year ago in Oman, also in an International Series event.
With two birdies in his first three holes of the day, Ortiz quickly took the lead alone, after starting tied with the American in the fourth and final round of the tournament. Another birdie on the 8th allowed him to open a small gap. But when Reed tried to react, the Mexican delivered the decisive blow to the tournament on the par-five 12th hole, with a stratospheric second shot to leave himself an eagle.
.@carlosortizGolf staring down the victory with this aggressive approach for eagle on the 12th 🔥@intseriesgolf @TorqueGC_ @livgolf_league #InternationalSeries #ThisISEverything #TimeToRise pic.twitter.com/ijhu9OT35N
— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) March 23, 2025
From there, he focused on maintaining his lead until the end. On the 15th, he missed a clear chance to extend his lead to three strokes, but the Texan, who had opportunities to rejoin the fight for victory until the end, was not sharp with the putter and had to settle for second place, which, in any case, also has a reward: a ticket to the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July where, in addition to Carlos and Patrick, Jason Kokrak (-16) will be present.
The American, who started the day well by resisting the attack from Sergio García (-15) (three birdies in the first nine holes from the Spaniard), began to falter on the par-five 13th. He missed the drive to the left, and in his attempt to reach the green in two from the rough, ended up with his ball in the bunker. His recovery fell short. And although he nearly holed his first putt from six metres, he ended up making par and losing a stroke to the Spaniard, who had managed to birdie the two par-fives on the 12th and 13th.
On the 14th, where the player from Borriol had made par after coming up short from the tee, Kokrak also failed to reach the green and ended up missing a putt of just over a metre for his first bogey of the day, seeing his lead reduced to just two strokes. And although neither on the 15th, 16th, nor 17th was the Spaniard able to make a birdie, Jason made a serious error in a bunker shot on the penultimate flag of the Country Club in Macao to head to the last hole with only a one-stroke margin.
The situation was delicate for the American because, in the event of a tie, the third ticket to the Open Championship would be awarded by world ranking, where Sergio was ahead. But luck was on his side at the decisive moment… Garcia reached the green in two and putted for eagle. He went past by about a metre, but the return putt for birdie, with considerable break, was hit with little firmness and did not go in. An insufficient par that allowed Kokrak to make two more errors and not lose the coveted podium that takes him to Royal Portrush… by a single stroke.
For the player from Borriol, despite the 65 with which he closed the week, the same thing happened as a year ago in the UK qualifier, when he was on the verge of entering the fourth major of the year. Although this time he still has options to achieve it. Both in the qualifiers and through the overall LIV Golf standings. The one who occupies the top spot after the Saudi tour event in Dallas will have a place in the Open and Sergio is well positioned. A consolation after today’s disappointment where he did the hardest part… only to ‘die’ at the shore.
David Puig (-4), for his part, had to settle for a tied 40th place in a week where he was unable to display his best game and in which, to top it off, what was set to be his best round of the tournament was spoiled by a double bogey on the 17th that cost him a good number of positions in the standings. He will try to make up for these days at the Trump National Doral in Miami, at the next LIV Golf event.
