Torque GC’s Carlos Ortiz’s growth pays off, earns first LIV Golf win in Houston

Carlos Ortiz of the Torque GC came out on top in Texas as he won the individual portion of the LIV Golf event at the Golf Club of Houston. He posted a 5-under 67 on Sunday to sit at 15-under total.

Ortiz defeated Adrian Meronk by one shot. Patrick Reed and David Puig finished at 13-under to tie for third place. The Torque member made six birdies and one bogey on the day.

His best finish of the year came at LIV Hong Kong when he finished fourth. Ortiz had a shot in Adelaide but came up short and settled for T22.

“It means a lot. I’ve been working really hard,” Ortiz said. “I’ve come close a couple of times. I think I learned a lot from Australia, and I just tried to stay patient and do my thing, and it worked out.”

As a team, Torque finished tied with the 4Aces in 4th. The Cleeks GC won the team portion by two strokes with a 33-under total.

Richard Bland led the way by shooting a 5-under 67 on Sunday. Meronk settled for a 4-under 68, Martin Kaymer shot 2-under 70 and Kalle Samooja rounded out the team with a 1-under 71.

Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC and Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC bot finished runner-up at 31-under.

Koepka led his team on Sunday with a 7-under 65. Talor Gooch carded a 6-under 66. Garcia led his team with a 4-under 68.

Twelve LIV Golf players will head to Pinehurst for next week’s U.S. Open. However, Ortiz will not be one of them.

“I’m not going to be able to get into the U.S. Open, but yeah, I think getting ready for Nashville and the summer in Europe,” he said.

LIV Golf’s next tournament is June 21-23 in Nashville at The Grove.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.