Dev Series: Garza claims first pro win in Aguascalientes

AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico – Tied for the lead through 36-holes, Mexico’s Luis Gerardo Garza got off to a furious start of birdie-birdie-eagle Saturday on his way to a final-round 67 that locked a one-shot victory at the Aguascalientes Open. The win at the Mexican Tour event co-sanctioned by the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica’s Dev Series was Garza’s first in almost two full years as a professional player.

The 25-year old from the city of León finished the 54-hole event at 14-under 202, edging Guatemala’s José Toledo, who birdied three of the last four holes to card a final-round 66 and claim runner-up honors at 13-under.

Jorge Villar of Puebla fired a tournament-low 10-under 62, recording one eagle, nine birdies and a bogey, to charge into a tie for third. At 12-under for the week, he joined Dallas, Texas native Josh Radcliff, who carded a 69 in a day he entered tied for the lead with Garza.

Raúl Pereda of Córdoba, Veracruz and Sebastián Vázquez of Mexico City rounded out the top-5, tying for fifth at 10-under.

“It’s so nice to see all the hard work paying off,” said Garza of his win at Club Campestre Aguascalientes. “I didn’t strike the ball that well after the first few holes, but I stayed patient, making several clutch putts.”

Playing his first full season on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Garza has made the cut in two of his six starts and currently ranks 105th in the Totalplay Cup standings.

The following are the final scores and positions for the players who finished inside the top 10 at the Aguascalientes Open:

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.