Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! The month long celebration, which lasts from Sept. 15 toOct. 15, recognizes the contributions and accomplishments of Americans who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, Central America, South American and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean.
The PGA TOUR would like to acknowledge the Hispanic and Latino golfers, fans, employees, volunteers and partners that have positively contributed towards our society and organization. In honor of this tradition, we’ve compiled the following statistics to illustrate the growing impact that Hispanic and Latino players are having on the PGA TOUR.
The World Golf Hall of Fame has enshrined Hispanic players like Seve Ballesteros, Lee Trevino, Jose Maria Olazabal, Lorena Ochoa, Nancy Lopez, Roberto De Vicenzo and Chi Chi Rodriguez. A growing number of young Hispanic players are making their name known on the PGA TOUR. Earlier this year, Jon Rahm joined Ballesteros as the only Spaniards to reach No. 1 in the world ranking.
Four Hispanic players – Rahm, Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann – qualified for the recent TOUR Champinship.
Munoz, Ancer and Niemann are three friends who form an exciting trio of young Latin players who are thriving on TOUR.
Munoz, 27, is the defending champion of this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship. He finished eighth in the 2020 FedExCup standings.
Niemann, 21, and Ancer, 29, played on last year’s International Presidents Cup team. Ancer has qualified for the past two TOUR Championships. Niemann is one of three players since World War II who were born outside the United States and won on the PGA TOUR before turning 21. Seve Ballesteros and Rory McIlroy are the other two.
Last year’s Sanderson Farms illustrated the impact of Hispanic players on the PGA TOUR. Munoz played in the final group alongside his former college teammate, Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz. Ortiz finished fourth en route to a 51st-place finish in the FedExCup. Munoz’s victory came just one week after Niemann started the 2020 season with a win at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier.
Here’s a closer look at the statistics that illustrate the impact Hispanic and Latin players have had on TOUR.
Since 2000, there have been 423 top-10s by players of Hispanic descent, compared to 276 from 1970 to 1999. From 1970 to 1999, that was an average of 9.5 top-10s by Hispanic players per season compared to 20.1 in the last 21 seasons (2000 thru 2019-20).
MOST TOP-10s BY HISPANIC PLAYERS IN LAST 50 YEARS
Name Top-10s
Lee Trevino 140
Sergio Garcia 105
Jose Maria Olazabal 45
Jon Rahm 40
Players from Spain have accumulated 30 PGA TOUR victories.
WINS BY PLAYERS FROM SPAIN
Name Wins
Sergio Garcia 10 (1)
Seve Ballesteros 9 (5)
Jose Maria Olazabal 6 (2)
Jon Rahm 5 (0)
Note: majors in parentheses.
Players from Latin America have combined to win 38 times on the PGA Tour. Since 2000, there have been 20 wins by 10 players from Latin America.
PGA TOUR WINNERS FROM LATIN AMERICA
Name Wins
Chi Chi Rodriguez 8
Roberto De Vicenzo 5
Camilo Villegas 4
Carlos Franco 4
Niemann and Munoz, who won in back-to-back weeks to start last season, are two of the six youngest Latin American winners in PGA TOUR history. Five of the six youngest Latin American winners in TOUR history have come since 2008.
YOUNGEST WINNERS FROM LATIN AMERICA
Name Event Age
Joaquin Niemann 2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier 20/10/08
Emiliano Grillo 2015 Safeway Open 23/01/04
Victor Regalado 1974 Pleasant Valley Classic 26/03/20
Jhonattan Vegas 2011 The American Express 26/05/04
Camilo Villegas 2008 BMW Championship 26/08/00
Sebastian Munoz 2019 Sanderson Farms Championship 26/08/18
Age in years, months and days.
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