RYAN Cairns made a slow start at the PGA Tour Latinoamérica Qualifying tournament in Peru, finishing the opening round in a tie for position 49 at the Country Club La Planicie in Lima on Tuesday.
DANIEL NHAKANISO SPORTS REPORTER
The 29-year-old professional golfer carded a three-over par 75 in the first round and trailed the first round leader Jacob Pastor by eight shots after the Spaniard shot a five-under par 67.
Cairns will need a strong performance in the next three rounds in Lima to finish the tournament in the top 20, which would give him full exemption for 2014 PGA Tour Latinoamérica.
The second round of the tournament was set to start late yesterday.
The PGA Tour Latinoamérica is a third level professional golf tour which is a rung behind the US PGA Tour and the Web.com Tour.
However, it is the first pathway to the US PGA Tour and it’s top five in the tour’s Order of Merit earn status on the Web.com Tour.
The top 25 players on the Web.com Tour’s money list are given US PGA Tour membership for the next season.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
The 2014 season of PGA Tour Latinoamérica will consist of 16 events in 10 countries across Latin America.
The season, to be played in two swings, will begin on February 17 with the Colombian Open in Bucaramanga, Colombia.
The season will be a race for players looking to finish the year in the top five on the Order of Merit standings – who will earn playing status on the Web.com Tour in 2015.
By competing on PGA Tour Latinoamérica, players have the opportunity to earn status on PGA Tour Canada where Cairns will compete in May and exemptions into the second and final stages of the Web.com Tour qualifying tournament.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s leading professional Brendon de Jongé will continue with his pursuit of a maiden PGA Tour victory at the Humana Challenge in La Quinta, California, US.
The Humana Challenge which is sponsored by the Clinton Foundation tees off today at the PGA West Palmer Private Course and the winner will walk away with $1 026 000.
De Jongé will be hoping for a better outing in La Quinta after 51st place finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii last week.
