Puerto Rico Open
The Puerto Rico Open is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was first played in 2008. It is the only PGA Tour event ever held in Puerto Rico. The tournament is played at the Coco Beach Golf Course which was designed by Tom Kite. From its inception through 2015, it was played in early March as an alternate event to the WGC-Cadillac Championship, but in 2016 it moved to late March, opposite the WGC-Dell Match Play. All four rounds are broadcast on the Golf Channel.
The winner of the Puerto Rico Open earns 300 FedEx Cup points and 24 OWGR points, compared to 550 FedEx Cup and 70-80 OWGR points for World Golf Championships. As an alternate event, the winner does not earn a bid to the Masters, but still receives a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour and entry into the PGA Championship as a Tour winner. In 2015, the prize fund was US$3 million with $540,000 going to the winner.
The Puerto Rico Open is allocated eight additional sponsor exemptions. Four of these are designated for players from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. The other four additional exemptions are unrestricted.
For 2018, the Puerto Rico Open was made an unofficial event as a fundraiser for relief efforts after Hurricane Maria, where it is played at TPC Dorado Beach. The event will again become official in 2019 and 2020.
The event has been considered to have an unofficial "curse" on the PGA Tour, as no winner of the event has ever gone on to win another tournament. The only exception to this is Michael Bradley who won the Puerto Rico Open for a second time in 2011, after winning his first in 2009, but has not won any other event since.
History
A Puerto Rico Open was played between 1956 and 1967. It was a fixture on the PGA-sponsored Caribbean Tour until 1965, after which sponsors rescheduled the event to later in the calendar year. The Puerto Rico Open was revived as a stop on the Tour de las Américas 2004 and 2005, before being reincarnated as a PGA Tour event in 2008.Winners
Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.;Tour de las Américas event
;Earlier events
Year | Venue | Player | Country | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up | Ref |
1967 | Dorado Hilton H&CC | Chuck Courtney | 280 | −8 | 2 strokes | Art Wall Jr. | ||
1966 | Dorado Hilton H&CC | Ramón Sota | 284 | −4 | 2 strokes | Bill Collins | ||
1965 | Dorado Hilton H&CC | Howell Fraser | 288 | E | 1 stroke | Al Besselink Art Wall Jr. | ||
1964 | Dorado Hilton H&CC | Art Wall Jr. | 289 | +1 | Playoff | Jay Dolan | ||
1963 | Berwind CC | Charlie Sifford | 277 | −7 | 6 strokes | George Knudson | ||
1962 | Berwind CC | George Knudson | 280 | −4 | 2 strokes | Al Geiberger Tony Lema Don Whitt Henry Williams Jr. | ||
1961 | Berwind CC | Billy Maxwell | 273 | −11 | 7 strokes | Roberto De Vicenzo | ||
1960 | Berwind CC | Joe Jimenez | 280 | −4 | Playoff | Stan Leonard | ||
1959 | Berwind CC | Pete Cooper | 282 | −6 | 5 strokes | Porky Oliver | ||
1958 | Berwind CC | Bob Toski | 288 | E | 2 strokes | Ernie Vossler | ||
1957 | Berwind CC | Chick Harbert | 281 | −7 | 2 strokes | Roberto De Vicenzo | ||
1956 | Fort Buchanan | Antonio Cerdá | 144 | E | 5 strokes | Herman Barron Dick Ferguson |