Daly II Ties for 37th in PGA Tour Debut... Castillo Claims First Victory

John Daly II (USA) successfully wrapped up his debut on the PGA Tour.

On March 8 (local time), at the Grand Reserve Golf Club (par 72, 7,506 yards) in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, he carded four birdies and six bogeys in the fourth round of the PGA Tour Puerto Rico Open, which has a total prize fund of 4 million dollars. Daly II shot a 2-over-par 74 for the day, finishing the tournament tied for 37th place (7-under-par 281 strokes), dropping 29 spots from the previous day.

John Daly II is taking a bunker shot on the 2nd hole of the 4th round at the Puerto Rico Open. Rio Grande=AFP Yonhap News Agency

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Daly II is the son of John Daly (USA), who is known for his maverick personality and won the 1991 PGA Championship and the 1995 Open Championship. He was invited to play in this tournament as a special invitee and is still an amateur. Throughout the event, his round scores were 2-under-par, 5-under-par, 2-under-par, and 2-over-par. On the final day, his average driving distance was 300 yards (11th place). His longest drive during the tournament was 323 yards (tied for 46th place).

The Puerto Rico Open is a tournament held for 120 players who do not qualify for the PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational (total prize money 20 million dollars) taking place in Orlando, Florida, during the same period.

Ricky Castillo (USA) claimed his first victory. On this day, he recorded one eagle and three birdies without a single bogey. Castillo finished with a total of 17-under-par 271 strokes, edging out second-place Chandler Blanchet (USA, 16-under-par 272 strokes) by one stroke.

Ricky Castillo is smiling brightly holding the trophy right after winning the Puerto Rico Open. Rio Grande=AFP Yonhap News, Photo by AFP

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Born in 2001, Castillo made his PGA Tour debut in the 2024-2025 season. Ranked 139th in the world, he had three top-10 finishes before this win. With this victory, Castillo earned a winner's prize of 720,000 dollars (about 1.07 billion won), as well as entries into next week’s The Players Championship-often called the "fifth major"-and the PGA Championship in May.

Blaise Brown (USA), born in 2007, finished third (16-under-par 272 strokes), marking his first top-10 finish in a PGA Tour event. He gained attention in January during the second round of The American Express by shooting a 12-under-par 60. Among Korean players, Sung Hyun Kim was the only participant in this tournament; he recorded five birdies and four bogeys to finish 1-under-par for the round and ended the tournament tied for 42nd place (6-under-par 282 strokes).

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