Charl Schwartzel hot despite tough conditions at Puerto Rico Open

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – He was a late addition to the Puerto Rico Open field, but so far, Charl Schwartzel is making the most of his week.

The two-time PGA TOUR winner shot 4-under-par 68 Friday at Coco Beach Golf Club, tied for his lowest round of the 2018-19 season.

Schwartzel admitted the 7,500-yard course was playing difficult through two rounds with swirling winds testing the patience of some of the best players in the world.

He said keeping the ball in play was key, and Friday Schwartzel hit two more fairways and four more greens in regulation than in his first round.

The par fives (two of which on the back nine measure over 600 yards, and one, the par-5 15th is into the wind and is the second-hardest hole on the course) were playing particularly tough, he said.

“They’re so long you can’t reach, and with the wind blowing, they’re tough to score on – and that’s where we do most of our scoring,” he said. “It (was) a hard round of golf. You can’t let up on any shot… but I played well today.”

Schwartzel finished T-70 at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES but hasn’t made a cut at a full-field event this season. He acknowledged he’s been having some bad results, but feels like he’s close to putting it all together.

“I just had some crucial moments in the rounds in the last few weeks gone wrong, so you miss the cut by one or two shots and you sit at home again,” he said.

Schwartzel, who finished 105th in the FedExCup standings last year, decided to enter this week’s event in Puerto Rico on Friday evening last week.

He was a victim of some bad weather at the Genesis Open, he said, but was playing well and wanted to get the competitive juice flowing again.

“I didn’t want to sit at home and keep practicing because I felt like there is no need to practice,” he said. “I was lucky enough to enter Friday evening and I’m glad I did. It’s nice to be here.”

The 2011 Masters winner said he’s feeling “100 percent” health-wise, he just hasn’t been able to string four good rounds together this season. He’ll make his first cut of the season in Puerto Rico and is within shouting distance of the lead.

Schwartzel said with the course conditions being so difficult, he won’t be changing his approach over the weekend.

“You have to keep the ball in play and take the opportunities when they come,” he said. “I feel like I’m putting well, so if you’re going to do anything on the weekend you’ll need to make a few more putts and that obviously will get you running up the board.”