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 News from Around Banderas Bay | March 2006 
Gato Romero at the Blue Agave Golf Classic
 PVNN
| | Gato Romero at the Blue Agave Golf Classic. |
Puerto Vallarta - Though the official inauguaration of the Blue Agave Golf Classic began Wednesday, the week long celebration had already started, with some of the biggest names of golf in Mexico already here in Puerto Vallarta.
Over twenty-eight professional golfers participated in the Monday Qualifier, among them three Mexicans. At 8 am on the dot, the first group teed-off in search of one of the two places that the organizing committee made available for golfers interested in getting a shot at the "big time."
After 18 tension-filled holes, the two players that obtained the coveted pass to potential stardom were Jack Spradlin and Perry Arthur. However, it wasn't that easy for Arthur, who had to play an additional tie-breaking hole against Match Adcock to determine who would be the winner of the last ticket.
Subsequent to the Monday Qualifier, the organizing committee announced that the last two "Exemptions without Restriction" for this first round of the tournament would go to golfers Charlie Epps and Gary Robison.
According to Tournament Director, Mike Feild, "We now have completed the field... unless one of the players gets ill or doesn't show up for some other reason, in which case, one of the alternate players who are currently on stand-by will take his place. But as of today, we have one of the best fields that the Championship Tour has ever presented in Mexico."
"In the end, we have 14 out of the 18 players listed on the 2006 Top Money Winners List, which is excellent for the first year of our tournament," said Feild. "The two winners of Monday's Qualifing Round together with the four former champions of the five tournaments in the Mexico Championship Tour make a spectacular field of players. And, as if that were not enough, we also have Hael Irwin, Vicente “Chino” Fernández, Eduardo “Gato” Romero and José María Reedbeds, extraordinary players that are very much loved in Mexico."
"And the best part of all is that Efrén Serna, the best senior player in Mexico, accepted our invitation to the Vallarta Blue Agave Golf Classic. We believe that the participation of Serna, one of the most well-known and competitive golfers in Mexico, carries a lot of weight and is an important addition to this field," he concluded.
Monday afternoon, Eduardo "Gato" Romero the Argentinian golfer who won the Mexican Open and is well-known among Mexican golf fans, consented to an interview. Romero, who has had a brilliant career in the European PGA, is one of the pillars of the development of modern golf tournaments in his own country, one of the greatest benefactors of young golfers in Argentina, and an extraordinary person.
Q: How do you feel about playing here in Puerto Vallarta?
Romero: Very good, thank you. This tournament is very important to me because, when I win, I will be permitted to play a lot in America. I'm playing very well, hitting the ball solidly, so I believe I will do very well this week.
Q: What is next for Romero?
Romero: After I leave Puerto Vallarta, I am going to Europe to play four tournaments in a row, including the Spain open, the Italy Open and the Ireland Open. All of them are part of the European PGA, where I already have status from playing there for the last four years.
Q: Do you have any memories of the Open that you won?
Romero: Of Course! That tournament was very important to me. I almost didn't play the last day because I had a very serious renal problem and had to spend the night in the hospital. On Sunday, I had to have twenty-two shots administered on the golf course - one for every hole. On the 16th hole, the pain had not abated, and the doctor, who was with me every step of the way, injected me once on the green and once on the fairway, because I felt that I could not continue. But when I got to the 18th green and saw the crowd on their feet applauding in recognition of my efforts, it gave me the strength [I don't know where it came from] to finish the tournament. There were so many people... Ché! |
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