University of Houston Athletics
Photo by: LAAC
De La Fuente Ready to Tee Off on PGA Tour on Thursday
2/21/2024 2:37:00 PM | Men's Golf
Senior All-American begins play at Mexico Open at Vidanta
VALLARTA, Mexico – University of Houston senior All-American Santiago De La Fuente will compete as an amateur in his first PGA Tour event when he tees off at the Mexico Open at Vidanta on Thursday morning.
The four-day, 72-hole event will be held at on the 7,456-yard, par-71 layout at Vidanta Vallarta Golf Course.
TUNE IN
Fans can watch the Mexico Open at Vidanta First Round beginning at 7:30 a.m., on ESPN+ with coverage moving to Golf Channel at 3 p.m., Thursday. For more information, fans can click here.
LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring from the Mexico Open at Vidanta by clicking here.
ABOUT SANTIAGO DE LA FUENTE
De La Fuente received a sponsor's exemption after recently winning the Latin America Amateur Championship.
After opening that tournament with a 69 in the First Round and following with a 71 on the par-70 course, De La Fuente posted a 66 in the Third Round to enter the final day one stroke back of the leader.
In the Final Round, the Guadalajara, Mexico, native quickly moved into red numbers with a birdie at No. 2 and added back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5-6.
De La Fuente overcame his lone bogey of the day at No. 7 with a birdie on the next hole and moved to 4-under with a birdie at No. 11. He then birdied each of the last two holes to move past Mexico's Omar Morales and capture the title.
In addition to the Mexico Open at Vidanta, De La Fuente also received exemptions to play in the U.S. Open Championship and The Open Championship and received an invitation to play in The Masters in 2024.
This season, he leads the Cougars with a 69.33 scoring average and eight rounds under par in nine total rounds. He tied for second at the season-opening Argent Financial Classic at Squire Creek Country Club on Sept. 10-12, 2023, thanks to three straight sub-par rounds, and tied for fifth at 10-under 203 at the spring-opening Southwestern Invitational in Westlake Village, Calif., on Jan. 29-31.
PAIRINGS
For the first two rounds, De La Fuente will be paired with Kevin Dougherty and Patrick Fishburn
That group will tee off in the last pairing of the day off No. 10 at 2:05 p.m., for Thursday's First Round, and at 9:20 a.m., Friday for the Second Round.
Complete tee times and pairings can be found by clicking here.
UP NEXT
De La Fuente and his Houston teammates tee off at the Cabo Collegiate at Twin Dolphin Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on March 3-5.
From the Cougars returning home to play host to the All-American Intercollegiate on March 18-19 at Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas.
SUPPORT the COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Men's Golf by supporting Linking Coogs – UH's NIL collective and by joining Project 17, which provides financial support directly to Houston Men's Golf for needs beyond its operating budget.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMGolf on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMGolf. Fans also can follow the team on Instagram at uhcougarmgolf.
The four-day, 72-hole event will be held at on the 7,456-yard, par-71 layout at Vidanta Vallarta Golf Course.
TUNE IN
Fans can watch the Mexico Open at Vidanta First Round beginning at 7:30 a.m., on ESPN+ with coverage moving to Golf Channel at 3 p.m., Thursday. For more information, fans can click here.
LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring from the Mexico Open at Vidanta by clicking here.
ABOUT SANTIAGO DE LA FUENTE
De La Fuente received a sponsor's exemption after recently winning the Latin America Amateur Championship.
After opening that tournament with a 69 in the First Round and following with a 71 on the par-70 course, De La Fuente posted a 66 in the Third Round to enter the final day one stroke back of the leader.
In the Final Round, the Guadalajara, Mexico, native quickly moved into red numbers with a birdie at No. 2 and added back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5-6.
De La Fuente overcame his lone bogey of the day at No. 7 with a birdie on the next hole and moved to 4-under with a birdie at No. 11. He then birdied each of the last two holes to move past Mexico's Omar Morales and capture the title.
In addition to the Mexico Open at Vidanta, De La Fuente also received exemptions to play in the U.S. Open Championship and The Open Championship and received an invitation to play in The Masters in 2024.
This season, he leads the Cougars with a 69.33 scoring average and eight rounds under par in nine total rounds. He tied for second at the season-opening Argent Financial Classic at Squire Creek Country Club on Sept. 10-12, 2023, thanks to three straight sub-par rounds, and tied for fifth at 10-under 203 at the spring-opening Southwestern Invitational in Westlake Village, Calif., on Jan. 29-31.
PAIRINGS
For the first two rounds, De La Fuente will be paired with Kevin Dougherty and Patrick Fishburn
That group will tee off in the last pairing of the day off No. 10 at 2:05 p.m., for Thursday's First Round, and at 9:20 a.m., Friday for the Second Round.
Complete tee times and pairings can be found by clicking here.
UP NEXT
De La Fuente and his Houston teammates tee off at the Cabo Collegiate at Twin Dolphin Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on March 3-5.
From the Cougars returning home to play host to the All-American Intercollegiate on March 18-19 at Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas.
SUPPORT the COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Men's Golf by supporting Linking Coogs – UH's NIL collective and by joining Project 17, which provides financial support directly to Houston Men's Golf for needs beyond its operating budget.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMGolf on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMGolf. Fans also can follow the team on Instagram at uhcougarmgolf.
– UHCougars.com –
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