The Korn Ferry Tour will have its stop in Colombia starting this Thursday, in which a purse of one million dollars will be at stake, the highest awarded by a sports event in the country. With 156 players from 17 countries, the Astara Golf Championship by MasterCard will be launched.
“We are excited that the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour are part of the impact that golf has in Colombia and the region. This tournament is one of the best on the circuit in the world because its environment helps players prepare for , in his future, to compete on the PGA Tour,” Alex Baldwin, president of the circuit, said at a press conference.
In 14 editions, several of the current figures in world golf have participated in this tournament. Names such as Americans Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay and Keegan Bradley have been part of the history of the competition, which is played at the traditional Country Club of Bogotá.
This year, again, the two Country Club fields are available to the participants: Fundadores and Pacos y Fabios. The last two rounds will be in the first of them, which has hosted all editions since 2010.
The national quota in the Astara Golf Championship
Five Colombians will try to repeat the feat of Juan Sebastián Muñoz. The Bogota native, winner of a tournament on the PGA Tour and today a LIV Golf player, achieved his first victory as a professional on this course in 2016, when he arrived at the tournament by invitation from the organizers. That victory allowed him to get the card on the American circuit and continue his growth.
Two local professionals will be in competition. One of them, Marcelo Rozo, who returns after overcoming an injury and the only one, for now, with a card on the circuit.
“It is a pleasure to be back and compete in front of people close to me, in my city. I am focused on the day to day, happy to be competing again after 15 months in the Korn Ferry, with gratitude to do what I like. I went through a complicated process with the wrist injury, but one of personal and professional growth,” said Rozo.
Marcelo Rozo, Colombian golfer.
Enrique Berardi / PGA Tour
For its part, Ricardo Celia has his fourth participation in the tournament, after a 2023 with good feelings, especially in the Olympic cycle tournaments: he won bronze in the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador and was very close to that metal in the Pan American Games in Santiago : He finished in fourth place, with a great finish.
“I am very happy and excited to play this week in Bogotá in the most important tournament in the country. It seems like a great experience, I like it a lot. It is the fourth time I have participated, I was in a good position the last time in 2019. I have done a good job this last year, so I arrive with a lot of confidence. I hope to have a good week,” said Celia.
Ricardo Celia, Colombian golfer.
Carlos Avendaño – Fedegolf
The local quota is completed by three amateurs: Daniel Faccini, winner of the Country Club's internal tournament, and Santiago Álvarez and Santiago Leal, who surprised the professionals to win the last classification tournament, played last week.
The Australian Rhein Gibson will defend the crown he won a year ago in these fields, with a large number of Latin American players, among them, two champions of the Latin America Amateur Championship, the Mexican Álvaro Ortiz and the Argentine Mateo Fernández de Oliveira.
SPORTS
More Sports news
#Colombians #seek #feat #return #Korn #Ferry #Golf #Tour #Bogotá
