The Puerto Rico Open is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was first played in 2008. It is the only PGA Tour event ever held in Puerto Rico. The tournament is played at the Coco Beach Golf Course (previously Trump International Golf Club Puerto Rico) which was designed by Tom Kite. From its inception through 2015, it was played in early March as an alternate event to the WGC-Cadillac Championship, but in 2016 it moved to late March, opposite the WGC-Dell Match Play. All four rounds are broadcast on the Golf Channel.[1]

Puerto Rico Open
Tournament information
LocationRío Grande, Puerto Rico
Established2008
Course(s)Grand Reserve Country Club
Par72
Length7,506 yards (6,863 m)
Tour(s)PGA Tour (alternate event)
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$4,000,000
Month playedMarch
Tournament record score
Aggregate267 Chesson Hadley (2014)
267 Nico Echavarría (2023)
To par−21 as above
Current champion
United States Brice Garnett
Location map
Grand Reserve CC is located in Puerto Rico
Grand Reserve CC
Grand Reserve CC
Location in Puerto Rico

The winner of the Puerto Rico Open earns 300 FedEx Cup points and 24 OWGR points, compared to 550 FedEx Cup and 70-80 OWGR points for World Golf Championships. As an alternate event, the winner does not earn a bid to the Masters, but still receives a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour (compared to three for a WGC event) and entry into the PGA Championship as a Tour winner. In 2015, the prize fund was US$3 million with $540,000 going to the winner.

The Puerto Rico Open is allocated eight additional sponsor exemptions. Four of these are designated for players from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. The other four additional exemptions are unrestricted.[2]

For 2018 only, the Puerto Rico Open was an unofficial event as a fundraiser for relief efforts after Hurricane Maria, and was played at TPC Dorado Beach.[3]

The event had been considered to have an unofficial "curse" on the PGA Tour, as no winner of the event had ever gone on to win another tournament. The only exception to this was Michael Bradley who won the Puerto Rico Open for a second time in 2011, after winning his first in 2009, but never won another PGA Tour event.[4] However, Viktor Hovland broke the "curse" when he went on to win the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December 2020, having won the Puerto Rico Open earlier in the year.[5] 2016 winner Tony Finau matched the feat when he won the Northern Trust in 2021.

History

edit

A Puerto Rico Open was played between 1956 and 1967. It was a fixture on the PGA-sponsored Caribbean Tour until 1965, after which sponsors rescheduled the event to later in the calendar year.[6] The Puerto Rico Open was revived as a stop on the Tour de las Américas 2004 and 2005, before being reincarnated as a PGA Tour event in 2008.

Winners

edit
Year Tour[a] Winner Score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Purse
($)
Winner's
share ($)
Ref.
Puerto Rico Open
2024 PGAT   Brice Garnett 269 −19 Playoff   Erik Barnes 4,000,000 720,000
2023 PGAT   Nico Echavarría 267 −21 2 strokes   Akshay Bhatia 3,800,000 684,000
2022 PGAT   Ryan Brehm 268 −20 6 strokes   Max McGreevy 3,700,000 666,000
2021 PGAT   Branden Grace 269 −19 1 stroke   Jhonattan Vegas 3,000,000 540,000
2020 PGAT   Viktor Hovland 268 −20 1 stroke   Josh Teater 3,000,000 540,000
2019 PGAT   Martin Trainer 275 −15 3 strokes   Aaron Baddeley
  Daniel Berger
  Roger Sloan
  Johnson Wagner
3,000,000 540,000
2018: No tournament
2017 PGAT   D. A. Points 268 −20 2 strokes   Bryson DeChambeau
  Retief Goosen
  Bill Lunde
3,000,000 540,000
2016 PGAT   Tony Finau 276 −12 Playoff   Steve Marino 3,000,000 540,000
2015 PGAT   Alex Čejka 281 −7 Playoff   Jon Curran
  Emiliano Grillo
  Tim Petrovic
  Sam Saunders
3,000,000 540,000
2014 PGAT   Chesson Hadley 267 −21 2 strokes   Danny Lee 3,500,000 630,000
2013 PGAT   Scott Brown 268 −20 1 stroke   Fabián Gómez
  Jordan Spieth
3,500,000 630,000
2012 PGAT   George McNeill 272 −16 2 strokes   Ryo Ishikawa 3,500,000 630,000
2011 PGAT   Michael Bradley (2) 272 −16 Playoff   Troy Matteson 3,500,000 630,000
2010 PGAT   Derek Lamely 269 −19 2 strokes   Kris Blanks 3,500,000 630,000
2009 PGAT   Michael Bradley 274 −14 1 stroke   Jason Day
  Brett Quigley
3,500,000 630,000
2008 PGAT   Greg Kraft 274 −14 1 stroke   Jerry Kelly
  Bo Van Pelt
3,500,000 630,000
2006−07: No tournament
American Express Puerto Rico Open
2005 TLA   Daniel Barbetti 268 −20 Playoff   Eduardo Argiró 125,000 22,500 [7]
2004 TLA   Rodolfo González 282 −6 1 stroke   Eduardo Argiró
  David Morland IV
110,000 19,890 [8]
Puerto Rico Open
1968−2003: No tournament
1967   Chuck Courtney 280 −8 2 strokes   Art Wall Jr. [9]
1966   Ramón Sota 284 −4 2 strokes   Bill Collins [10]
1965   Howell Fraser 288 E 1 stroke   Al Besselink
  Art Wall Jr.
[11]
1964   Art Wall Jr. 289 +1 Playoff   Jay Dolan [12]
1963   Charlie Sifford 277 −7 6 strokes   George Knudson [13]
1962   George Knudson 280 −4 2 strokes   Al Geiberger
  Tony Lema
  Don Whitt
  Henry Williams Jr.
[14]
1961   Billy Maxwell 273 −11 7 strokes   Roberto De Vicenzo [15]
1960   Joe Jimenez 280 −4 Playoff   Stan Leonard [16]
1959   Pete Cooper 282 −6 5 strokes   Ed Oliver [17]
1958   Bob Toski 288 E 2 strokes   Ernie Vossler [18]
1957   Chick Harbert 281 −7 2 strokes   Roberto De Vicenzo [19]
1956   Antonio Cerdá 144[b] E 5 strokes   Herman Barron
  Dick Ferguson
[20]

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ PGAT − PGA Tour; TLA − Tour de las Américas.
  2. ^ Shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

References

edit
  1. ^ "PGA Tour adds Puerto Rico Open to '08 schedule". PGA Tour. April 9, 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  2. ^ "2015–16 PGA Tour Player Handbook & Tournament Regulations" (PDF). October 5, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 12, 2016.
  3. ^ "Puerto Rico Open back on PGA Tour schedule in 2019 after Hurricane Maria cancels 2018 plans". ESPN. Associated Press. December 21, 2017.
  4. ^ Myers, Alex (February 18, 2020). "Why PGA Tour pros might want to think twice about winning the Puerto Rico Open". Golf World.
  5. ^ Woodward, Adam (December 6, 2020). "Viktor Hovland breaks PGA Tour's 'Puerto Rico Open Curse'". Golfweek.
  6. ^ "Citrus Open tops winter golf tour". Fort Pierce News Tribune. Fort Pierce, Florida. September 22, 1965. p. 12. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.
  7. ^ "Puerto Rico Open once again raises the bar" (PDF). Caribbean Golf Magazine. May 2005. p. 39.
  8. ^ "Rodolfo González campeón en Puerto Rico". espn.com.gt (in Spanish). March 21, 2004.
  9. ^ "Courtney Wins Puerto Rico Open". Youngstown Vindicator. Youngstown, Ohio. AP. November 27, 1967. p. 15. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  10. ^ "Sota Captures Puerto Rico Title". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. AP. November 21, 1966. p. 13. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  11. ^ "Rookie Fraser Wins Tourney". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. AP. March 15, 1965. p. 13. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  12. ^ "Art Wall Takes Caribbean Cup". Youngstown Vindicator. Youngstown, Ohio. UPI. March 9, 1964. p. 14. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  13. ^ "Sifford Wins in San Juan Knudson 2nd". The Gazette (Montreal). Montreal, Canada. AP. March 4, 1963. p. 26. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  14. ^ "Knudson Captures Puerto Rico Open". The Gazette (Montreal). Montreal, Canada. AP. March 5, 1962. p. 20. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  15. ^ "Puerto Rico Open Win by Maxwell". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. AP. March 6, 1961. p. 11. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  16. ^ "Golf Victory to Jimenez". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. AP. February 29, 1960. p. 12. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  17. ^ "Coop Claims Second Win". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. AP. February 16, 1959. p. 10. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  18. ^ "Toski Is Winner in Puerto Rico". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. AP. February 10, 1958. p. 10. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  19. ^ "Harbert Wins Puerto Rican Open Tourney". The Gazette (Montreal). Montreal, Canada. AP. February 4, 1957. p. 26. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  20. ^ "Cerda Cards 144, Wins Puerto Rican Golf Tournament". The Gazette (Montreal). Montreal, Canada. AP. February 6, 1956. p. 22. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Google News Archive.
edit

18°24′18″N 65°47′56″W / 18.405°N 65.799°W / 18.405; -65.799