HOUSTON — Carlos Ortiz held off Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama by closing with a 5-under 65 to win the Houston Open on Sunday, becoming the first Mexican to win on the PGA Tour in 42 years.
He earned every bit of it, caught in a tight battle on the back nine with the world's No. 1 player and Japan's biggest star. Ortiz delivered the winner with a 6-iron to 8 feet on the par-5 16th. He had to settle for a two-putt birdie, and it held up when Johnson and Matsuyama narrowly missed birdie chances coming in.
Ortiz finished in style. Needing two putts to win, the 29-year-old holed a 20-foot birdie putt for a two-shot victory.
Ortiz held back tears as he waited for his playing partners to putt. The victory sends him to the Masters next April. He was there a year ago to watch his brother, Alvaro, who qualified by winning the Latin American Amateur.
"It feels awesome," said Ortiz, who grew up in Guadalajara and played at North Texas with Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, the most recent Latin American winner on tour. "This is like my second home. There was a bunch of people cheering for me, Latinos and Texans. I'm thankful for all of them."
It was the loudest cheer for a winner since March. The Houston Open was the first domestic PGA Tour event that allowed spectators, with 2,000 tickets sold daily. They were treated to a good show.
The last Mexican-born player to win was Victor Regelado, who captured the Quad Cities Open in 1978.
Johnson was making his first start since the U.S. Open after a positive coronavirus test knocked him out of the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek and the Zozo Championship at Sherwood.
