As 132 golfers tee off at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com, one AJGA junior is among them. After winning the Puerto Rico Junior Open sponsored by Sport Link in January and securing a sponsor’s exemption into the PGA TOUR equivalent, Jorge Garcia will make his TOUR debut this weekend at Trump International Golf Club Puerto Rico.
“It’s been a great journey since I won the Puerto Rico Junior Open,” said Garcia, 17. “I have worked really hard with my coach to get mentally ready for the upcoming days. It has been a great experience to play with all these legends that you see on TV and always dream of playing with.”
Garcia earned his berth after he posted a 10-under-par 206 for a seven-stroke victory in January.
Contested on the same course as the TOUR event, Garcia shot a 63 during the first round. In the 2012 TOUR event, 65 was the lowest round carded by only three players.
This marks the third straight year the champion of the Puerto Rico Junior Open sponsored by Sport Link has received a sponsor’s exemption into the PGA TOUR event. The Miami native came close to the spot in 2011, finishing runner-up
, but prevailed a year later.
“I still had that little grind from last year that I really want to win,” Garcia said. “I just made sure that I knew every shot was going to count.”
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during the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com, March 7-10.