The trip to the Caribbean for the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open proved much more than just a nice warm-weather visit for several players with strong Colorado connections.
Here’s a quick rundown:
— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe made his first cut on the PGA Tour in 19 months, since August 2013. The 1992 Colorado Open champion and four-time CGA Match/Stroke winner finished 70th Sunday in Puerto Rico (76-68-72-75–291), earning $6,000.
— Cherry Hills Village resident David Duval ended a streak of 10 consecutive PGA Tour events in which he’s either missed the cut or withdrawn by placing 47th in Puerto Rico. In a week in which he split his time between playing and doing broadcasting work for the Golf Channel, Duval “cashed” at a Tour event for the first time since April 2014. The former top-ranked player in the world carded scores of 70-74-72-72–288 for a $7,613 payday.
— Denver native Mark Hubbard held sole possession of the lead after a first-round 68 — this coming after consecutive PGA Tour appearances in which he proposed to his girlfriend and proceeded to miss the cut in Pebble Beach, then was disqualified from the Honda Classic for failing to officially register for the event.
After leading following round 1 in Puerto Rico, Hubbard reflected on things: “Yeah, I’ve been getting a lot of press. I thought it would be perfect this week to go ‘Engaged-DQ-Win.’ It would be a trifecta.”
Alas, Hubbard had to settle for 27th place after posting scores of 68-74-71-73 for a 2-under-par 286 total. Despite not getting his trifecta, Hubbard recorded the second top-30 finish of his rookie season on the PGA Tour, with the performance in Puerto Rico being worth $18,736.
— Finally, and perhaps most improbably, Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders (pictured) notched by far his best showing ever on the PGA Tour, losing in a playoff and tying for second place in Puerto Rico. Just a couple of weeks after appearing on the cover of Golfweek magazine with grandfather Arnold Palmer, Saunders emerged from a deep slump.
After missing the cut or withdrawing from his previous seven starts on the PGA Tour, the Coloradan not only notched his first top-10 in 32 PGA Tour starts, he very nearly won the tournament, earning $198,000 in the process.
Saunders went 69-68 on the weekend to finish at 7-under-par 281 and make his way into a five-man playoff. He missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the first hole in sudden death, while German veteran Alex Cejka made birdie from 12 feet to claim his first Tour title.
“I really felt like I hit a pretty good putt there,” Saunders said. “It went right on me and I was playing it inside the hole. I’m still proud. I had a great week — just good things going forward. … Hopefully, I’ll have more chances like this.”
