Dev Series: Ledesma claims second Abierto del Centro career title

VILLA ALLENDE, CORDOBA, Argentina – Nelson Ledesma sank a 10-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole for a one-shot win at the 91st playing of the Abierto del Centro Telecom, an event he won for the first time in 2017. Carding an even-par 71 in a windy final round Saturday, Ledesma finished at 14-under 270 to edge fellow Argentine Ignacio Marino, who missed a 24-footer for birdie at the last that would have forced a playoff. The Argentine Tour event was co-sanctioned by the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica’s Dev Series at the historic Cordoba Golf Club.

Coming off a tie for tenth a week before at the Korn Ferry Tour’s astara Chile Classic, Ledesma took a two-shot lead into the final day following a low-of-the-week 9-under 62 Friday. Solo second at that point, fellow Korn Ferry Tour member Jorge Fernández Valdés tied him for the lead with birdies on Nos. 2 and 3. Fernández Valdés’ chances slipped away between Nos. 9 and 14, where he went bogey-bogey-bogey-eagle-bogey-bogey. The Cordoba native went on to finish solo third at 11-under for the week.

“It was a tough day. I’m tired,” admitted the 32-year old Ledesma after his battle with Marino and Fernández Valdés. “It was a grind all day. I thought my golf would be better, but the conditions were tough, with the wind picking up to make you think a bit more. Anyway, I stayed patient and trusted my game.”

Opening the final day with 10 consecutive pars and a bogey on 11, Ledesma bounced back with a birdie at the par-five No. 12. “I made a great birdie on No. 12. I hit my tee shot right and I was lucky it didn’t go out of bounds. Then I punched out with a 5-iron that seemed on its way out as well, but it stayed in,” said Ledesma of a hole he birdied by sinking a 60-footer.

He kept battling all the way home, finishing bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie for the one-shot win over Marino, who posted a final-round low 2-under 69 for runner-up honors.

“Hopefully this win will push me in the right direction, just as it did when I won this same event back in 2017. Things clicked after that victory, after years of not playing that well,” said the man who won by three shots in 2017 on his way to finishing the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica season ranked fifth on the Order of Merit.

After his breakthrough 2017 season, the Tucuman native went on win twice on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2018 and 2019 to move up to the PGA TOUR, where he spent two full seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Hoping to make his return to the PGA TOUR next season, Ledesma currently holds the 51st on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List.

Far behind the leading trio, Oreste Focaccia finished solo fourth at 6-under and Matías Simaski solo fifth at 5-under. Maxi Godoy took solo sixth at 4-under, while the 36-hole leader Julián Etulain finished in a tie for seventh with Jorge Monroy at 3-under.

The following is a look at the players who made it into the top 10 at Cordoba GC:

Co-sanctioning events from the top domestic Tours from across Latin America, the Dev Series grants the leading five players from each event access to a final tournament –the Dev Series Final– that awards PGA TOUR Latinoamérica status for the following season.