Tour News
PGA Tour Latinoamérica: The Player Experience
Last month, PGA Tour Latinoamérica held four Qualifying Tournaments, handing out a total of 20 membership cards. This week, the 2017 season gets underway at the 70 Avianca Colombia Open, one of a multitude of national opens appearing on the tour’s schedule. A number of players from the host country, as well many others with Latin American roots, are in the field. They will be joined in Bogotá by a large contingent of Americans, who altogether constitute a majority of members on the tour.
This comes as no surprise to most, as the golf-crazed United States is a breeding ground for top talent. The Americans are a highly-motivated bunch that dream of teeing it up on the Web.com and PGA tours. For many, the pursuit of that dream leads to Latin America. I got the opportunity to talk with a trio of American players, all of whom have played on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica in recent years, to discuss their experiences.
Bryan Martin, a Southern Californian who played in college at Loyola Marymount and San Diego State, is entering his fourth season on PGA Tour Latinoamérica. For him, the decision to compete on the tour was quite simple: “It was the first of all the other qualifiers,” he said.
Martin acquired status on his initial go-around in 2014. He’s remained on the tour ever since, in part because he believes that “the familiarity of the courses and environment is to my advantage.” While a fourth-year player can hardly be considered a veteran, his statement rings true; fields are typically filled with a substantial number of players that are seeing the course for the first time.
Weston Payne is also a native of the Golden State. He played various mini tours in California and Arizona before trying his hand on PGA Tour Latinoamérica. Despite his strong play on the mini tours, which included a win and a few other top finishes, he did not earn any exemptions or improved status for the Web.com Tour’s Q-School.
At the end of each season, PGA Tour Latinoamérica awards Web.com Tour cards to the top five money-winners. For Payne, this was “a big draw.” He also relished the opportunity to travel and “see a part of the world that I never had been to before.” The tour’s split-season schedule, with most tournaments played in the spring and fall, was also a deciding factor in his decision to play down South instead on the Mackenzie Tour (PGA Tour Canada). This allowed Payne to play a full schedule in Latin America, but “it also meant that I would be home for the summertime to play a lot of the Web.com Monday [Qualifiers] and State Opens.”
Sam Fidone, who hails from the piney woods of East Texas, played his college golf at SMU. He completed his first full season on PGA Tour Latinoamérica in 2016 after having earned conditional status through Q-School. Fidone admits to struggling with his game and lacking confidence early in the 2016 schedule, but that all changed in May. In just his sixth start on tour, he eagled the final hole to win the Honduras Open by a single stroke. The victory provided a huge boost to his career. Pulling off such a dramatic win “was quite validating…it felt life changing,” he said. Certainly, it has provided some stability and peace of mind, as it “got me established on this tour for the rest of 2016 and this upcoming year,” making it “very easy for scheduling.”
For most players based in the States, the biggest challenge they face on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica (aside from the stiff competition, of course) is the exhausting travel. Fidone said that it “can be tough…hopping from country to country each week.” In his first year on tour, Payne said he was “somewhat thrown into the fire…with the red eyes and layovers to get to some faraway places.”
Between tournaments, players often take a Sunday night redeye to the next stop, or will have to spend most of Monday in transit. With practice on Tuesday and the Pro-Am on Wednesday, the guys have limited time to prepare for the opening round. Despite all the time spent on planes and dealing with logistics, Payne notes that “the tour does a great job scheduling tournaments and off weeks so that the players have ample time to plan travel and get some good rest.” At most, he has played four consecutive weeks. However, the schedule typically includes two or three events in a row, followed by an off week.
“each week is a unique test that brings out different styles of play.”
Additionally, at each tour stop, the players must get acclimated to a new location and golf course. Players get to experience a wide range of geographies, climates and course conditions. One week, the tour might be in the rarefied air of Quito, Ecuador, at an elevation around 9000 feet; the next week they might play an ocean-front course in the Dominican Republic. “Each week is a unique test that brings out different styles of play,” Payne said.
While it can be difficult to adjust at first, Fidone believes that “all of those things can make you better.” Similarly, Martin said that “figuring out how to be comfortable [while] being uncomfortable” is critical to success on the tour. He knows that each week “there is going to be something that throws you off.” In order to provide some semblance of consistency, he strives to stick to a routine. One habit that he has developed is “packing food for the trips…because they don’t always have food that you’re used to eating on the course.”
While each week brings a unique set of challenges, the players also get to experience different cultures and compete on some of the best courses in Latin America. Fidone recognized how fortunate he is to “play [in] some incredible places…from the courses we get to play, to the resorts/hotels/towns we get to stay in, are second to none as far as experience goes.” He pointed to a couple of Pete Dye-designed courses as his favorite destinations on the tour’s schedule. The first, La Reunion Golf Resort in Guatemala, is “a golf course on a volcano.”
The Casa de Campo Resort’s “Teeth of the Dog” course in the Dominican Republic, which is ranked as the No. 1 course in the Caribbean (and No. 39 in the world) also sits atop his list. Payne enjoyed his two visits to Colombia last year, as the tour held events in Medellín and Cali. Both cities are situated in beautiful valleys, making for a spectacular backdrop to any golf tournament. “The people were fantastic, very proud of their culture and country, and so nice and welcoming,” he said, a sentiment echoed by other players and tour officials that hail from the States.
“If you truly want to make it to the PGA Tour, you can’t stay in the States and play the mini tours anymore.”
With all of the travel and the grind of life of tour, a strong bond forms between many of the players. In the relatively small world of professional golf, especially on PGA Tour Latinoamérica, everybody knows everybody. “We are all at the same place in our careers,” Payne said, which contributes to a sense of camaraderie. “We also spend so much time with one another off the golf course…and in many ways you feel like you have some great support from other players.”
Martin also appreciates the solidarity, and has developed “friendships with other players from all over the world.” Yet, apart from the companionship, the players remain fiercely competitive on the course as they work towards the ultimate goal of moving to the Web.com and eventually the PGA Tour.
Most American players are drawn to PGA Tour Latinoamérica for the chance to move up to the big name tours. “If you truly want to make it to the PGA Tour, you can’t stay in the States and play the mini tours anymore,” Martin said. While the purses may be smaller, he believes the PGA Tour Latinoamérica is unparalleled in terms of opportunities for growth and advancement. The tour features strong fields that have only gotten deeper in recent years, making the competition even tougher. Tournaments are run by a dedicated and professional staff, which is “made up of some really passionate people who not only do a fantastic job running events, but also become great friends to the players,” according to Payne.
Although they face many challenges along the way, the players on PGA Tour Latinoamérica are also very fortunate. They get to play golf for a living, and in doing so, travel to some of the most unique and breathtaking places in the world. “Seeing different cultures and countries is something that I wanted to do in golf, and fortunately I’ve been able to do that at the beginning of my career,” Martin said.
In a similar vein, Fidone does not take any of it for granted. “We’re lucky to do what we do,” he said. If nothing else, at least the Americans have the chance to pick up a new language. Fidone has “enjoyed learning a little bit of Spanish” during his time in Latin America, a skill that should come in handy upon his return to Texas. But like the other players on PGA Tour Latinoamérica, he hopes that future homecomings include stops at Colonial, TPC San Antonio, and Golf Club of Houston, among others, as a member of the PGA Tour.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Players Championship
On the heels of Scottie Scheffler’s dominant victory at Bay Hill, the PGA Tour heads a little farther north in Florida to TPC Sawgrass this week for The Players Championship. And of course, GolfWRX is on site to get a look at what the players are playing.
We’ve already spotted a new Titleist mini driver this week, and there’s plenty more.
Check out our photos below!
Pullout Albums
- New Titleist 2 wood – 2024 The Players Championship
- Cam Young testing Titleist’s new 2-wood – 2024 THE PLAYERS Championship
- Hole Nos. 17 and 18 – 2024 THE PLAYERS Championship
- Toulon Small Batch Texas putter – 2024 The Players Championship
- Swag Golf custom headcovers – 2024 The Players Championship
- New Ping PLD staff bags – 2024 The Players Championship
- SuperStroke St. Patrick’s Day putter grip – 2024 The Players Championship
- Taylor Montgomery using PuttView X training goggles – 2024 The Players Championship
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
GolfWRX is on the ground in Orlando ahead of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
We’re assembling our usual collection of WITB photos, general galleries, and of course, gear inspired by the King himself.
We’ll continue to add to the photos below as more flow in from Florida.
General Albums
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #1
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #2
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Monday #3
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #1 (thanks, bvmagic!)
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #3 (bvmagic)
- 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational – Tuesday #2 (bvmagic)
WITB Albums
- Matt (LFG) Every – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Sahith Theegala – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Scottie Scheffler – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Luke List – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Taylor Moore – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- David Ford – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
Pullout Albums
- New Cameron putters (and new “LD” grip) – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New Bettinardi MB & CB irons – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Custom Bettinardi API putter cover – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Custom Swag API covers – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New Golf Pride Reverse Taper grips – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- New PXG putters – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Scottie Scheffler putter change – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Sepp Straka – shaft change to new Ventus blue – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Rickie Fowler’s new Cobra Darkspeed X driver and Denali shaft (and Radspeed 3-wood) – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Justin Rose testing Srixon Z Forged II irons – 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Cognizant Classic
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Cognizant Classic —FKA the Honda Classic.
The first leg of the PGA Tour’s traditional “Florida swing,” the Cognizant Classic continues to be contested at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, host course of the 1983 Ryder Cup and 1987 PGA Championship. The course is known for its famed “Bear Trap,” a three-hole stretch of holes that take their name from Jack “The Golden Bear” Nicklaus, who redesigned the course in 2002.
The Bear Trap includes No. 15 (a par 3), No. 16 (a par 4), and No. 17 (a par 4). All three holes involve water and have led to several big numbers from Tour players over the years.
Check out an assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums below.
We’ll continue to update the galleries as more photos flow in from Florida!
General Albums
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #3
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Monday #4
- 2024 Cognizant Classic – Tuesday #1
WITB Albums
- Brandt Snedeker – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Max Greyserman – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Eric Cole – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Carl Yuan – WITb – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Russell Henley – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Justin Suh – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Alex Noren – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Shane Lowry – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Taylor Montgomery – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Jake Knapp (KnappTime_ltd) – WITB – – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Sam Ryder – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Maverick McNealy – WITB – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Tua Tagovailoa mini WITB (NFL QB, Miami Dolphins) – 2024 Cognizant Classic
Pullout Albums
- New Super Stoke Pistol Lock 1.0 & 2.0 grips – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- LA Golf new insert putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- New Garsen Quad Tour 15 grip – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- New Swag covers – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Jacob Bridgeman’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Bud Cauley’s custom Cameron putters – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Ryo Hisatsune’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Chris Kirk – new black Callaway Apex CB irons and a few Odyssey putters
- Alejandro Tosti’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
- Joohyung Tom Kim’s “new” center-shafted Scotty Cameron putter – 2024 Cognizant Classic
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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4right
Feb 18, 2017 at 2:48 pm
Latin America is beautiful, these players are very fortunate to experience and possibly learn a unique culture. I’m sure they’ll remember it for the rest of their lives. The world we currently live in is so divided, so much hate, I wish people would want to be proud Americans first. We look so weak as a nation to others watching us. God bless the world, and God bless America…