Ricky Castillo had a chip-in eagle on the sixth hole to take the lead and held on to win the Puerto Rico Open by one stroke for his first PGA Tour victory Sunday in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
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Castillo drained a birdie putt at No 13 to break a tie with Chandler Blanchet for the outright lead, then added one more at the par-5 14th at Grand Reserve Golf Club before saving four pars down the stretch and carding a 5-under 67.
At 17-under 271, Castillo had just enough room to beat Blanchet, who birdied his final hole to also shoot 67 and reach 16 under.
🚨🏆⛳️ #WINNING MOMENT — Ricky Castillo is a PGA Tour winner, claiming victory at The Puerto Rico Open. pic.twitter.com/RWE5JAWrSE
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) March 8, 2026
"It's super special," said Castillo, 25. "To be able to win out here, my parents were able to watch and stuff like that. You know, I know my grandma's looking down right now all happy and stuff, so just super surreal."
Castillo, a native of California, had two top-five finishes, including a third place in 2025. He said he would have liked to qualify for this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational but entered the alternate event because he was eager to play, making the breakthrough even more rewarding.
"It's really cool to put into words to be able to win my first event," he said. "I felt like I wanted to be in Bay Hill and I decided to just come out here and play this and ended up winning, so it all works out in the end."
First TOUR victory ✅
— Golfbet (@Golfbet) March 8, 2026
Ricky Castillo wins @PuertoRicoOpen 🏆 pic.twitter.com/zVsL4PSFd7
Crucially, Castillo did not have a single bogey Saturday or Sunday. His short-range chip-in from off the green at the par-5 sixth was quickly followed by a birdie at the par-3 seventh.
Blades Brown, 18, was vying to become the second-youngest winner in PGA Tour history but settled for third at 14 under after a round of 69. Davis Thompson (69) was fourth at 13 under and Paul Peterson (66), Luke Clanton (68) and German Matti Schmid (71) tied for fifth at 12 under.
Gordon Sargent, the former No 1 amateur in the world, shot a final-round 70 and finished in a large tie at 11 under in his first tournament as a pro.
"I think it's easy to get ahead of yourself a little bit and think about kind of the results, so tried to kind of just stay present and yeah, definitely going to take a lot away from this week," Sargent said.
Amateur John Daly II struggled to a 74 and finished 7 under in his first PGA Tour start.