Back in November, Ricky Castillo agonizingly missed out on retaining his full PGA Tour playing privileges, placing 102nd on the FedEx Cup points list when he needed to be in the top 100. That meant he only had conditional status for the 2026 season, but he took his chance in style at the Puerto Rico Open, where he beat Chandler Blanchett by one for his maiden PGA Tour title.
The 24-year-old’s 68 in windy conditions on Saturday ensured he had a one-shot lead heading into the final round at Grand Reserve Golf Club. After a steady start featuring five successive pars, Castillo showed he was up to the task at the par-5 sixth, making an eagle, before following that up with a birdie at the seventh to move him to 15-under for the tournament.Despite that, as well as Blanchett, he faced stiff competition from another player looking for his maiden PGA Tour win, Blades Brown, who began the day tied for second. Brown made four birdies on the front nine to make the turn tied for the lead with Castillo, and he had the solo lead with another birdie at the 11th. However, just when it appeared the 18-year-old was set to seal his prodigious talent with victory, disaster struck with a triple bogey at the par-4 13th.
Further back, there was no such drama for Castillo at the same hole. As Castillo lined up his birdie putt, he had the co-lead with Blanchett, who was four-under for his round further on, but if there were any nerves, he didn’t show them, rolling in the lengthy putt to lead by one. At the 14th, it got even better for Castillo with another birdie as his lead stretched to two, and he made no mistake over the remaining four holes, with a run of pars to get home by one after Blanchett had earlier birdied the last.
From chaser to two-shot lead 💪Ricky Castillo inches closer to his first PGA TOUR victory @PuertoRicoOpen.📺 Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/LSHbJfgHgaMarch 8, 2026
The victory capped a hugely impressive week for Castillo, who played his last 52 holes bogey-free. Following the win, Castillo admitted it had fulfilled a lifelong dream. He said: “It means a lot. I mean, it's something I've been wanting to do ever since I was a little kid and be a winner on the PGA Tour and be able to call myself a PGA Tour winner is pretty cool now, for sure."
As well as being able to call himself a PGA Tour winner after just 35 starts, Castillo also picks up prize money of $720,000, 300 FedEx Cup points, a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour and a place in the PGA Championship. The win would also have granted Castillo a place in the field for The Players Championship, but he had already qualified via his position on the current FedEx Cup points list. Despite those perks, Castillo, whose only previous professional win came on the Korn Ferry Tour three years ago, accepted that there is still work to do to achieve more of his ambitions. He added: “I feel like this still doesn't get me into The Masters and stuff like that, so I still have things to look forward to and strive for. “That was kind of the positive thing about this event. Regardless if I won or not, I was still going to have things to strive for afterward.” Elsewhere, another notable name who began the final round in contention, John Daly II, could only manage a two-over 74 to place T37.
