Nico Echavarria is a winner of the PGA Tour.
Echavarria rode a final-round 68 at Grand Reserve Golf Club, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. He finished 21 under and beat Akshay Bhattia by two shots at the 2023 Puerto Rico Open. This was the first event of the PGA Tour’s 2023 calendar.
Echavarria finished in the 60s (67,67,65-68), all four rounds. Over the 72 holes, Echavarria had 22 birdies and two eagles. He also had six bogeys.
Echavarria, a rookie on the PGA Tour said he found something in Friday’s swing and that it carried over to the weekend. He becomes the 10th player to win the Puerto Rico Open, his first career PGA Tour title.
“With how I played the last few weeks at Honda, that course was really difficult but I missed it by 8 or 9″. He said that he missed the cut by a lot at Pebble. You don’t believe it will get better until things such as this week click and finding something at the range on Friday changes your entire week. If I hadn’t had Friday’s practice session and found the right thing, I doubt I would have been here. It helped me clear my mind. I was thinking about too many things. Before coming to this week, I was in a mental funk.”
Bhatia started the day in fifth place and finished solo second. He had a tie for ninth at 2020 Safeway Open. This is his best Tour finish. He has also achieved two top-10s in four starts of the Korn Ferry Tour 2023.
Bhatia made eight birdies in his final round. He also had four consecutive Nos. To close his week, he had eight birdies in his final round, including four straight on Nos. 15, 16, 17 and 18. He was disappointed, but he was still energized and emotionally charged after this week’s performance.
Bhatia stated that she is legally allowed to drink and may have a beer with her parents. “I am excited to see my dogs. I haven’t seen them in over two weeks. Yes, but I don’t know. There will be lots of emotions. My dad will be crying, something I have only witnessed once.
Echavarria won the Puerto Rico Open and was awarded 300 FedEx Cup Points and $684,000. As first-time Tour winners, Echavarria joins Kurt Kitayama who won Sunday’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. He was also selected for the Players Championship, which begins Thursday at TPC Sawgrass.
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He said, “It’s going be amazing to be at home because it’s Jacksonville.” It’s going be special, especially after a win. Going to continue playing and feeling the same feelings right now about my game. This game is fast changing and you have to stay consistent with what your trying to do.
Carson Young and Nate Lashley tied for third at 16 over, five shots behind. Michael Kim was the sole fifth at 15 over.
By: Todd Kelly
Title: Nico Echavarria wins maiden PGA Tour title at 2023 Puerto Rico Open, earns spot in Players Championship
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/03/05/nico-echavarria-wins-pga-tour-2023-puerto-rico-open/
Published Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2023 22:02:30 +0000
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