BOGOTA, Colombia — After the first three tournaments of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season, Colombian Marcelo Rozo’s goals have completely changed. With a tie for sixth at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay and a tie for 15th last Sunday at The Panama Championship after a final-round 65, Rozo is in good position for the remainder of the season as he continues fighting for his career dream of reaching the PGA TOUR.

After entering the 2022 season with conditional status – T50 at Final Stage of Q-School last fall – the Bogota native carries abundant confidence into this week’s Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard, contested at the Country Club of Bogota.

“I have been playing quite well, and I feel calm knowing that I can play the rest of the year on (the Korn Ferry) Tour,” said Rozo, whose strong early-season play will do wonders for his position in the upcoming reshuffle. “It hasn’t been easy. It’s been a long process, but I think I'm focusing on enjoying myself week after week.

“I was obsessed with golf, and there is so much more to life than that. You have to enjoy the profession, but I also want to enjoy my family.”

Already, 2022 has been a bit different for Rozo, the year not altogether promising when it began. Rozo ended the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour season by losing his playing privileges and concerned about the brain cancer diagnosis of his wife, Manuela.

“The results did not come last season. In the last tournament in Omaha (Pinnacle Bank Championship), I was fighting for a top-10 and my driver broke during the second round. It was a year in which things did not work out on a professional and personal level,” noted Rozo after finishing No. 169 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List.

“In Q-School, I played well, but during Final Stage we got the news that my wife might have cancer,” he added. “That puts your feet on the ground and opens your eyes. She makes you realize that you have to focus on your family.”

After going through a slew of tests and then enduring the recovery process, the diagnosis was not correct, and Rozo again had peace of mind and was able to focus on his profession. Navigating heavy winds for three of the four rounds in Exuma, Rozo earned the valuable top-10 with rounds of 73-67-69-70.

Rozo arrived at this week’s Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard ranked 15th on the Points List. Next is his desire to show well at the Country Club of Bogota.

“I have confidence at a very high point,” said Rozo, who hopes to become the event’s second Colombian winner in 11 years of tournament history. “Coming to this tournament motivates you for many reasons. This tournament has been listed as one of the best of the season, and in my personal case, playing it in front of my friends and family gives me additional motivation.”

In six previous performances, he has never made the cut, which is ironic because Rozo knows well what it’s like to play in Latin America. As a member of the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, he has won three times — lifting trophies in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. In his home country of Colombia, though, winning is still on his to-do list.

“I think I always played with the pressure of being local, of trying to win the tournament,” said Rozo. “It has cost me a lot mentally. I have learned from past experiences, and I am focusing on the process and not the result. I would like to win, but I am focused on playing day by day. It is a week to have a good time, and more than just the whole family has come to see me.”

The only previous Colombian victory on the Korn Ferry Tour came in 2016. Sebastián Muñoz took advantage of a sponsor’s exemption to win the Astara Golf Championship, a victory that, in part, aided in allowing Muñoz to ascend to the PGA TOUR for the first time in his career.

This week, in addition to Rozo, four other Colombians will seek to emulate what Muñoz did five years ago.

“Sebastian’s victory and his subsequent promotion to the PGA TOUR showed us Colombians that it is possible to reach the elite,” said Rozo. “He and Camilo Villegas have represented us in the best way, and I am sure that many others come after them. Every year, I longed to be one of those players.”

As in its most recent 2020 edition, the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard will be played across the two courses of the Country Club of Bogota. Pacos y Fabios, a 6,249-yard par-70, will once again challenge the 156-player field the first two days of play, while the club's flagship course, Lagos, a 7,237-yard par-71, will be active all four days of competition.

“There are plenty of birdie opportunities. You must stay calm to realize those opportunities,” said Rozo of the Pacos course. “If you get out of control, you can have a very bad time.

“Two years ago, I didn't play well on that course, and it was hard for me to miss the cut. It will be interesting to see how the players square their strategy on two completely different courses.”