Ricky Castillo maintains lead in P.R.; Blades Brown pursuing closely.
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Ricky Castillo had aspirations of being in Florida this week for his inaugural $20 million signature event. Instead, he finds himself at the Puerto Rico Open, where he is making the most of the opportunity, recording a bogey-free round of 4-under 68 in challenging winds on Saturday to secure a one-shot advantage heading into the final round.
Amid a day of significant shifts — John Daly II briefly tied for the lead and 18-year-old Blades Brown made another strong challenge — Castillo made a birdie by chipping in on the 12th hole and maintained composure on the closing holes at Grand Reserve Golf Club.
With a total of 12-under 204, Castillo will be paired in the final group with England’s John Parry, who earned his PGA Tour card through the European tour standings last year.
“This is the position that all of us have dreamed of and want to be in a chance to win a golf tournament,” Castillo remarked. “I’ve been fortunate to have that opportunity a few times and haven’t gotten it done, so hopefully we’ll do it tomorrow.”
Brown made a remarkable 50-foot eagle putt on the par-5 14th, marking the highlight of his 3-under 69, which gives the teenager another opportunity this year to become the youngest PGA Tour winner in 95 years. He was in the final group with Scottie Scheffler at The American Express before fading on Sunday.
“All this is just experience,” Brown stated, having graduated high school in January.
He performed well that week, with a couple of late bogeys occurring long after Scheffler had pulled ahead, resulting in a 74 that placed him in a tie for 18th. However, he did not appear overwhelmed playing alongside the world’s top-ranked player and is eager for Sunday.
“Just having that moment and that experience with Scottie and Si Woo (Kim) and being in the final group is going to help me tomorrow being in the hunt again,” Brown expressed. “I’m really looking forward to it. I love to compete and it’s going to be a fun day tomorrow.”
Matti Schmid recorded a 68 and is in a group one shot behind, alongside Chandler Blanchet, who entered the third round with a four-shot lead but lost too many strokes on the greens, particularly with a few short putts. Blanchet finished with a 74.
Daly, the 22-year-old son of two-time major champion John Daly, also appeared composed in his PGA Tour debut. He shared the lead when he hit a 5-iron onto the green at the par-5 12 for an eagle, bringing him to 10 under. On the subsequent par 5, he used a driver from the fairway to reach the front of the green, only to three-putt for par from approximately 75 feet.
However, he missed the green to the left on the 18th, chipped too strongly, and ended a streak of 46 consecutive holes without a bogey when he lipped out a 15-foot par putt.
“It was solid,” he assessed his round. “For sure it was the windiest day of the week so far. It was really hard to get the numbers right. But I stayed in it well, hit some good shots. It’s unfortunate to make my first bogey in a while on 18. I hit a good second shot, but the wind caused it to rise in the air. Oh, well, it was a good day.”
Castillo was just 11 points shy of qualifying for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which features a $20 million purse. The victor of the Puerto Rico Open, with its $4 million purse equivalent to what the winner receives at Bay Hill, secures a spot in The Players Championship and the PGA Championship.
