RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Ricky Castillo secured his first PGA Tour title by finishing with a 5-under 67, following a series of back-to-back birdies right after 18-year-old Blades Brown faltered on a single hole.
Brown, aiming to become the youngest PGA Tour winner in 95 years, held a one-shot advantage with six holes remaining when he encountered trouble, going from a bunker to the water and resulting in a triple bogey.
Castillo, who was in the final group trailing Brown, sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole and then executed an impressive pitch over the mounds to 5 feet for another birdie on the par-4 14th.
Castillo narrowly missed qualifying for the $20 million signature event at Bay Hill this week, falling short by 11 points in the FedEx Cup standings. He traveled to Puerto Rico, played without a bogey in the final round at Grand Reserve, and secured a spot in his first major championship as a professional.
This victory qualifies him for the PGA Championship, and he was already set to participate in The Players Championship next week at TPC Sawgrass.
“It’s really cool to put into words to be able to win my first event,” Castillo stated. “I felt like I wanted to be in Bay Hill and I decided to just come out here and play this and ended up winning, so it all works out in the end. Yeah, surreal week.”
He concluded the tournament at 17-under 271, finishing one shot ahead of Chandler Blanchet, who birdied the final hole for a score of 67.
Brown, who turned professional last year and graduated high school in January, birdied his last hole for a 69, securing third place on his own, marking his first top 10 finish on the PGA Tour.
However, it was one hole — the 455-yard 13th — that proved detrimental. This situation mirrored his experience at The American Express in January, where he played in the final group with Scottie Scheffler. On that occasion, he hit a tee shot into the water on the fifth hole, resulting in a double bogey and losing ground to one of golf’s top players.
This time, he found himself in a fairway bunker, and his approach to a green bordered by water on the right side veered significantly to the right. After taking his drop, he became overly aggressive with a wedge, causing the ball to roll over the green. He chipped to 7 feet but missed the putt, resulting in a triple bogey.
Brown held a one-shot lead heading to the 13th but finished the 14th four shots behind.
John Daly II, the 22-year-old son of two-time major champion John Daly, began three shots back and recorded a 34 on the front nine. However, he quickly fell behind with five bogeys in seven holes to start the back nine, finishing with a score of 74.
“I learned that you’ve got to put four rounds together and it’s not easy out here,” Daly remarked. “But very happy, not mad at all. Just a great day, great week.”
He returns to Arkansas with aspirations of winning an NCAA title.
Brown earned his entry into the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook with his first top 10 finish, having already received a sponsor exemption for the event.
