Daily Times

HOUSTON: Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz held off world number one Dustin Johnson and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama to clinch his maiden PGA Tour title with a two-shot victory over the decorated duo at the Houston Open on Sunday. Ortiz, who began the day one shot back of overnight leader Sam Burns, shot a bogey-free five-under-par 65 to reach 13 under on the week at Memorial Park Golf Course where he became the third player from Mexico to win on the PGA Tour. That left him one shot clear of Matsuyama (63), whose red hot finish stalled at 18 where he missed a 13-foot birdie putt, and Johnson (65), who nearly grabbed a share of the lead at 16 where his putt from 20 feet rolled just left of the cup.

“I’ve played great this week and it was really hard to hold the emotions all the way to the end, but I’m really happy the way it played out and the way I played, too,” said Ortiz. “I wasn’t really thinking about the other guys, I wasn’t worried. I knew if I played good I was going to be hard to beat because … if I finished strong, there was no chance for them to catch up.” Ortiz, playing in the final group along with Burns and Australian former world number one Jason Day, needed a closing par to secure the win but went one better when he drained a 22-foot birdie to cap the victory in his 118th PGA Tour start. Day, who also began the day one shot off the lead, had four bogeys through his first 11 holes en route to a closing 71 that left him six shots back of Ortiz. Burns, who had the first 54-hole lead of his career and was also seeking his maiden PGA Tour win, had a bogey, birdie and double-bogey over his first four holes en route to a closing two-over 72.