Carlos Ortiz’s thoughts were elsewhere after LIV Golf triumph in Houston

Fresh off his victory at the LIV Golf event in Houston, Carlos Ortiz shared that missing out on the US Open has been a tough pill to swallow, with his mind still wrapped up in that situation.

Ortiz finished the LIV tournament with a stellar 5-under 67 in the final round, clinching the title with an overall score of 15-under 201, just edging out Adrian Meronk by a single stroke. Post-victory, while at the Golf Club of Houston, the 33 year old golfer opened up about his disappointment over not making it through the US Open final qualifying last month.

“I’ve been playing great,” he admitted. “It’s a shame I doubled the last hole to miss the qualifier. It hurt a lot. But I think with time, we’re going to get back into the majors because I know that I’m one of the best players in the world right now, and I deserve to be there. But the way things are happening right now, it’s kind of hard.

“I’ll do my best to get into the British Open, and I also have the summer Olympics, too, other than the LIV tournaments coming up.”

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Since his move to LIV Golf, Ortiz has faced challenges in earning Official World Golf Rankings points, which has seen him drop to No. 232 in the rankings.

His switch to the controversial Saudi-backed league has also resulted in him missing out on participating in this year’s Masters and PGA Championship, and a disappointing showing during “golf’s longest day” meant he also missed out on this weekend’s major.

Ortiz, who’s been on a hot streak with six consecutive top-25 finishes including a recent victory and a top-5 at LIV Golf Hong Kong in March, might soon see a new route opening up for LIV Golf players to enter the US Open.

John Bodenhamer, USGA’s chief championship officer, hinted earlier this month at the possibility of a dedicated track for LIV players at the US Open. “We’ve watched what is happening in professional golf unfold and we’ve seen a lot of good players go over to LIV and so we’re thinking a lot about it, we’ve talked a lot about it,” he commented.

He added, “I think it’s reasonable to expect that at some point, yes, we would create a pathway or someway that we would get those great players, give them an opportunity to be unified again.”

Echoing this sentiment back in May, Mike Whan, CEO of the United States Golf Association, acknowledged: “If LIV stays as a separate entity and keeps the quality of players that it’s got, can I envision a pathway to the U.S. Open through LIV? I can, but I’d like to see what the final product is, and we’re just not exactly sure we know that yet.”

LIV Golf is set to send a dozen players to Pinehurst this year, including past US Open champions Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm – if he recovers in time. Tyrrell Hatton, David Puig, Meronk, Cam Smith, Dean Burmester and Eugenio Chacarra will also be flying the flag for the emerging league.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.