Alvaro Ortiz fired a 7-under-par 64 to move into a tie for the lead at his national open, the Mexico Open at Vidanta, on Friday in Vallarta, Mexico.
Ortiz is tied with Jake Knapp, England’s Matt Wallace and Finland’s Sami Valimaki at 11-under 131 at the par-71 Vidanta Vallarta. Knapp also posted a 64, Wallace a 65 and Valimaki a 67 in the second round. They were one shot ahead of first-round leader Erik van Rooyen of South Africa (69 Friday).
Ortiz, 28, won the Mexico Open in 2021, the final year before the PGA Tour put the tournament on its schedule. He sits at No. 669 in the Official World Golf Ranking but picked up a pair of victories on Mexico’s professional golf tour last year.
He began his Friday round on the back nine and birdied Nos. 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. The highlight came at the par-5 sixth hole, when his downhill, right-to-left eagle putt dropped from 30 feet away. Ortiz drove all 13 fairways in regulation.
Like Ortiz, Knapp stayed bogey-free with his round and sank seven birdies. He tied for third at the Farmers Insurance Open last month.
Defending champion Tony Finau shot a 67 on Friday to join a massive group in ninth at 6 under. The tie included 19 golfers as the last groups of golfers were finishing their rounds.
The projected cut line was at 2 under. Charley Hoffman (even par), South Koreans K.H. Lee and S.H. Kim (1 over) and Italy’s Francesco Molinari (2 over) were among those expected to miss the cut.
–Field Level Media