Mexico’s Alvaro Ortiz ties lead for 64, in position for career-changing weekend at Mexico Open

It may have come on a different course and a different tour, but Alvaro Ortiz is once again in position to win his national open.

Ortiz, who won the 2021 Mexico Open when it was an event on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, carded a second-round 64 on Friday to move into a tie for the lead of this year’s Mexico Open at Vidanta. It’s the first time in 11 PGA TOUR starts that Ortiz finished any round inside the top five.

“The more I play, the more comfortable I feel and I start to realize that I have the game,” said Ortiz, who is playing this week on a sponsor exemption.

The 28-year-old Mexican went out in 31, making five birdies in his opening nine. He made eight pars and an eagle on the back nine to card a bogey-free 7-under 64. At 11-under, he holds a share of the lead with Matt Wallace and Sami Valimaki.

Ortiz’s talent has been evident since his amateur days. He won the 2019 Latin America Amateur Championship for his fourth top-three in five starts at the event. He became the first Mexican to play in the Masters since Victor Regalado in 1979 and went on to make the cut and finish one shot back of low amateur Viktor Hovland.

Ortiz’s 2021 win on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica helped earn him Korn Ferry Tour status in 2022, though he struggled in his year on the elevated circuit. He finished outside the top 100 to lose his card. But he continued to play well worldwide, winning twice on the Mexican tour in 2023. He continued to play well last fall and qualified for the Final Stage of Q-School to re-earn status on the Korn Ferry Tour.

He could level up again this weekend, undoubtedly the most important two rounds of his young career. Here are the implications for Ortiz this week:

• With a win: Ortiz would receive the same benefits with a win if he subsequently accepted membership as any other winner. Those benefits include a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR, exemption into the remaining five Signature Events and invites to THE PLAYERS Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship. Ortiz would show on the FedExCup standings with 500 FedExCup points. This would be the first season with multiple wins by non-members since 2011 (Rory McIlroy/U.S. Open, Darren Clarke/The Open Championship) and the first season with multiple wins by sponsor exemptions in at least 30 years.
• With a solo-second finish: Ortiz would be eligible for Special Temporary Membership for the 2024 PGA TOUR season. If he accepted membership, Ortiz could receive unlimited sponsor exemptions for the duration of the season. If he accumulated more non-member FedExCup points than No. 125 in the FedExCup standings at the conclusion of the FedExCup Fall, Ortiz would earn membership for 2025.
• With a top-10 finish: Ortiz would earn a spot in next week's Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.

Ortiz will have the hometown crowd on his side. He grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico, roughly a five-hour drive from Vidanta Vallarta. It is his second appearance at the event since it came to the PGA TOUR.

“It's awesome to have my family, to have my friends, to have my people,” Ortiz said. “We don't get to play much in Mexico, so it's pretty cool to be out here, to be playing well and feel the support from them.

“There's still a lot of golf to be playing, 36 holes, anything can happen. Got to focus right now, got to get a good practice in, recover and get ready for tomorrow.”