Excellent debut for Jorge Campillo from Extremadura on the PGA Tour: 67 strokes, four under par, on the first day of Mexico Open at Vidanta, in Puerto Vallartathat put him in top 15, four shots behind the leader, South African Erik van Rooyen, who made two eagles Thursday en route to 8 under par. Van Rooyen leads the second by one stroke.
This is Finn Sami Valimaki, one of 10 players on the European circuit who got PGA Tour cards this year – Campillo is also one of them – and shot 64 strokes. Chilean Cristóbal del Solar, who set the Korn Ferry Tour record two weeks ago with a 57 at the Bogotá Championship, was one of those who shot 65.
Van Rooyen was born in southern South America, grew up in South Africa, played college golf in Minnesota and can’t explain why he feels so good in Mexico. He won last November’s World Technologies in Cabo San Lucas, a thrilling victory that came a week before his college teammate died of cancer.
Four years ago, in his first WGC World Cup, the Mexico Championship in Chapultepec (Mexico City), he played in the final group with Patrick Reed and Justin Thomas and tied for third place. “I don’t know what it is, it has to be the food, the people, the whole shebang,” Van Rooyen said of his ‘love affair’ with tournaments on Mexican soil.
The defending champion, Tony Finau, He sent the ball into the water (double bogey) and finished with a birdie for a 69 stroke.
The Mexico Open follows a busy West Coast Swing with visits to Pebble Beach, Phoenix and Riviera, and comes a week before the Florida Open en route to the Masters. This tournament, however. It only attracted four players from the top 50 in the world rankings and the winner gets an invitation to the Masters.
Campillo is very good around the green and with the putter. He recovered the six greens he missed after hole 10, some with excellent bunker shots, others with great technique and some with tight three-meter putts. From tee to green he hasn’t been very good, but he’s had the ability and success to not miss the not-so-bad side when he’s played. In between so many recoveries, he was also able to take advantage of the birdie options presented to him, finishing the round in extraordinary fashion with three birdies in the last four holes.
Classification on the first day (par 71):
-8 Erik van Rooyen (SAF) 63
-7 Sami Valimaki (End) 64
-6 Matthys Daffue (SAF) 65, Cristobal Del Solar (Chi) 65, David Lipsky (USA) 65, Henrik Norlander (Sue) 65
-5 Joseph Bramlett (USA) 66, Cameron Champ (USA) 66, Lanto Griffin (USA) 66, Chan Kim (USA) 66, Andrew Novak (USA) 66, Thorbjørn Olesen (Dink) 66, Patrick Rodgers (USA) 66 , Matt Wallace (England) 66
-4 Jorge Campillo (Spain) 67
Source: La Verdad
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