Ortiz holds off Johnson, Matsuyama to win Houston Open

Houston, November 9: Carlos Ortiz held off Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama to win the Houston Open for his maiden victory on the PGA Tour.

Ortiz carded a five-under 65 in the final round at the Memorial Park Municipal Golf Course in Texas to finish at 13 under.

The 29-year-old finished two strokes clear of Johnson (65) and Matsuyama (63) for his first PGA Tour triumph.

Burns leads Houston Open, Day and Johnson in contention

Ortiz's win came in his 118th start, while he joined Victor Regalado and Cesar Sanudo as the only Mexicans to win a PGA Tour event.

During a bogey-free final round, Ortiz secured his success in style with a 22-foot birdie putt on the 18th.

Needed par. Drained the birdie. @CarlosOrtizGolf left no doubt to seal his first TOUR title. pic.twitter.com/fMXzy3Ey5g

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 8, 2020

Making his first start since the U.S. Open after recovering from coronavirus, world number one Johnson fell short despite continuing his charge with a final-round 65.

Johnson struggled to a 72 in the opening round, and that proved costly as he finished with three straight rounds of 66 or better, having narrowly missed a 21-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have put him in a share of the lead.

Matsuyama produced the equal best round of the day as his 63 saw him finish alongside Johnson in a tie for second.

Talor Gooch (63) was outright fourth at nine under, a shot ahead of Brooks Koepka (65) and Sepp Straka (69).

Koepka posted back-to-back 65s, marking the second time in his career he has posted consecutive rounds of 65 or better in the third and final rounds, in positive signs ahead of next week's Masters.

Mackenzie Hughes (63), Tyrrell Hatton (65), overnight leader Sam Burns (72) and Jason Day (71) ended up at seven under.