Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz held off Patrick Reed to claim the International Series Macau presented by Wynn today, after a closely fought battle between the LIV Golf stars at Macau Golf and Country Club.
Ortiz won the International Series Oman last year and made it win number two on The International Series and Asian Tour today after closing with a six-under-par 64 to finish three ahead of Reed on 22-under.
Reed, looking to add this week’s title to his win at the Link Hong Kong Open last November, fired a 67, as did fellow-American Jason Kokrak, three back in third.
All three were thrilled to book their berths for The Open at Royal Portrush this summer – as this week’s event is part of the Open Qualifying Series, with the top three, not already exempt, making it through to final Major of the year.
Sergio Garcia finished one stroke behind in fourth, following a 65. The Spaniard painfully missed a three-footer for birdie on the last which would have seen him tie with Kokrak and secure the third place in The Open through countback based on his higher world rankings.
Ortiz started the day sharing the lead with playing partner Reed but moved immediately in front with birdies on the first and third plus another on eight. He was two ahead at the turn before playing the pivotal par-five 12th. Ortiz struck a brilliant fairway wood to five feet and made the eagle putt, which meant he was two ahead of Reed and three from Kokrak, who both birdied the 12th.
A clutch eight-footer for par on the par-three 14th also proved crucial for Ortiz. He then missed a five-footer for birdie on the next which would have put him three ahead, but he was able to stay two ahead before a birdie on 18 put more daylight between him and Reed.
“It was a good week,” said Ortiz, who plays for Torque GC on LIV Golf.
“I think I did a good job of putting the ball in play, that’s important on this golf course. I think I drove it really well. I took advantage of the par fives and some of the short par fours, and I mean, I think that’s important on this golf course.
“I mean, I think most of the trouble is from the tee, so once you put the driver in play, it opens up from there. So, I think I did a good job from there. I didn’t take full advantage of all those great drives, but I mean I took advantage enough. I am overjoyed to be heading to The Open.”
It’s the 10th win of Ortiz’s career. He’s also claimed one title a piece on the LIV Golf League and the PGA Tour. The 33-year-old moves to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series rankings.
On his eagle on 12 he said: “I was trying to get it on the green and it looked good in the air, you know, getting it that close it’s obviously a little bit of luck, but I hit a great shot so it’s nice to be able to capitalize on that.”
He has played in The Open once before, in 2021, while it will be the 10th time Reed has played in game’s oldest Major, and the fifth for Kokrak.
Reed, who also led after the first and second rounds, said: “A little frustrating. I didn’t make many putts. Had the case of lip outs for two days. So that’s unfortunate. When you do something like that, it’s just hard to win golf tournaments.
“Put myself in position, and yeah, I hit the ball plenty well enough. 16 greens today, had a decent amount of looks, just, you know, just lipping out and burning edges.
“So, you know, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the win. But, you know, anytime you can play bogey free on Sundays, always positive, you know, really. To go and finish solo second, get at spot in The Open, yeah, it means a lot.”
Canada’s Richard T. Lee closed with a 65 to take fifth outright, while Poland’s Adrian Meronk and Taichi Kho from Hong Kong, shared sixth after rounds of 64 and 65 respectively.
Defending champion John Catlin from the United States returned a 68 to finish in a tie for 26th.
The Asian Tour heads to the GS Caltex Maekyung Open next at Namseoul Country Club in Seoul, Korea. The tournament will be played from May 1-4, and is followed the week after by the inaugural International Series Japan – being played at Caledonian Golf Club.
ENDS
Scores after round 4 of the International Series Macau presented by Wynn – being played at Macau Golf and Country Club, a par 70, 6,713-yard course (am – denotes amateur):
258 – Carlos Ortiz (MEX) 67-61-66-64.
261 – Patrick Reed (USA) 63-64-67-67.
264 – Jason Kokrak (USA) 68-64-65-67.
265 – Sergio Garcia (ESP) 65-66-69-65.
266 – Richard T. Lee (CAN) 67-67-67-65.
267 – Adrian Meronk (POL) 66-70-67-64, Taichi Kho (HKG) 67-66-69-65.
268 – Jazz Janewattananond (THA) 67-68-69-64, Lucas Herbert (AUS) 65-65-69-69.
269 – Charlie Lindh (SWE) 67-68-67-67, Travis Smyth (AUS) 65-65-71-68, Peter Uihlein (USA) 64-71-66-68, Dominic Foos (GER) 65-67-65-72.
270 – Miguel Tabuena (PHI) 64-67-72-67, Abraham Ancer (MEX) 67-69-66-68, Sebastian Munoz (COL) 65-67-69-69, Wooyoung Cho (KOR) 68-66-67-69, Kieran Vincent (ZIM) 66-65-69-70.
272 – Kevin Yuan (AUS) 67-70-71-64, Chase Koepka (USA) 68-69-68-67, Kelvin Si (MAC) 66-67-71-68, Sanghee Lee (KOR) 67-68-69-68, Jed Morgan (AUS) 66-69-69-68, Maximilian Rottluff (GER) 68-67-66-71, Nick Voke (NZL) 66-71-64-71.
274 – John Catlin (USA) 72-66-68-68, Santiago De la Fuente (MEX) 68-70-68-68, Gunn Charoenkul (THA) 69-69-67-69, Kazuki Higa (JPN) 70-67-68-69, Chonlatit Chuenboonngam (THA) 66-71-67-70, Wu Ashun (CHN) 66-67-70-71, Manav Shah (USA) 69-68-66-71, Poom Saksansin (THA) 70-69-72-63, Yuvraj Sandhu (IND) 69-65-67-73, Kalle Samooja (FIN) 64-72-65-73.
275 – Denzel Ieremia (NZL) 68-66-71-70, Sihwan Kim (USA) 67-67-71-70, Junggon Hwang (KOR) 65-67-71-72, Sadom Kaewkanjana (THA) 70-69-71-65.
276 – David Puig (ESP) 69-68-70-69, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 72-65-70-69, Danthai Boonma (THA) 72-65-69-70, Luke Kwon (KOR) 72-67-66-71, Soomin Lee (KOR) 68-70-70-68, Anirban Lahiri (IND) 67-70-72-67, Ollie Roberts (SCO) 70-69-70-67, Joel Stalter (FRA) 69-70-70-67.
277 – Todd Sinnott (AUS) 67-70-70-70, Matthew Cheung (HKG) 70-66-73-68, Wade Ormsby (AUS) 73-66-70-68, Tanapat Pichaikool (THA) 68-71-70-68, Yubin Jang (KOR) 67-71-72-67, James Piot (USA) 72-67-71-67.
278 – Maverick Antcliff (AUS) 71-64-73-70, Chapchai Nirat (THA) 69-70-69-70, Nitithorn Thippong (THA) 69-69-71-69, Seungsu Han (USA) 68-68-68-74.
279 – Yosuke Asaji (JPN) 65-70-72-72, David Horsey (ENG) 68-71-70-70, Matt Jones (AUS) 70-67-73-69.
280 – Caleb Surratt (USA) 72-63-72-73, Ervin Chang (MAS) 72-66-70-72.
281 – Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 70-65-73-73, Atiruj Winaicharoenchai (THA) 69-66-70-76, Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA) 70-65-73-73, Wang Wei-hsuan (TPE) 69-70-70-72, Bobby Bai (CHN) 69-70-70-72, Stefano Mazzoli (ITA) 66-72-72-71.
282 – Jbe Kruger (RSA) 68-70-71-73, Settee Prakongvech (THA) 71-67-73-71, Chen Guxin (CHN) 69-70-74-69.
283 – Jack Thompson (AUS) 67-69-78-69.
284 – Scott Hend (AUS) 70-69-75-70.
285 – Jakkanat Inmee (THA) 70-69-70-76, Ratchanon Chantananuwat (am, THA) 68-71-75-71.
286 – Daihan Lee (KOR) 66-71-77-72, Pawin Ingkhapradit (THA) 69-70-75-72, Shiv Kapur (IND) 69-68-79-70.
294 – Chanmin Jung (KOR) 72-67-87-68.
