PORTO FELIZ, Brazil—Once the JHSF Brazil Open concludes Sunday, PGA TOUR Labnoamérica
will have hit the halfway point in its season: six tournaments (almost) done, six sbll to play. Yet
even as the Tour closes in on the midway mark of the 2022-23 campaign, storylines are sbll a bit
muddled.
With the Korn Ferry Tour idle in December, numerous members from that Tour, also eligible to
play on PGA TOUR Labnoamérica, traveled to Argenbna and Chile to play in the first three
events of the season. Consequently, Cristóbal del Solar, winner of the Neuquén Argenbna
Classic, conbnues to lead the Totalplay Cup despite having not played any tournaments in the
2023 porbon of the calendar. Also near the top is Zack Fischer, winner of the Visa Argenbne
Open presented by Macro. He, too, plans to compete on the Korn Ferry Tour for the remainder
of the year.
That leaves PGA TOUR Labnoamérica regulars poised to move to the top of the standings, and
that could likely happen this week at Fazenda Boa Vista, home to the JHSF Brazil Open, the third
of four nabonal opens on the Tour’s schedule. Linus Lilliedahl is No. 2 on the points list, 64
points behind Del Solar, while Chandler Blanchet, winner of the Roberto De Vicenzo Memorial
100 Years, is only 15 points behind Lilliedahl.
Blanchet is the hoKest player coming into the week. The Florida nabve was in a bght baKle with
Argenbna’s Leandro Marelli coming down the stretch last week at Ranelagh Golf Club in
suburban Buenos Aires. Clinging to a one-shot lead through 72 holes, all Blanchet did was dunk
his second-shot approach on the par-4 finishing hole for an eagle and an eventual three-shot
victory over Marelli.
“I played this course twice. One in 2019 and then last year, so I feel comfortable around this
track. I have a good game plan and I have ‘Big Tony’ on the bag as well. He was my caddie when
I won in Sao Paulo four years ago, so I get good vibes here,” said the 28-year old.
Blanchet, a two-year Korn Ferry Tour member and now a two-bme PGA TOUR Labnoamérica
champion, knows Brazil brings back good memories. Blanchet’s previous Tour btle came at the
2019 São Paulo Golf Club Championship, about an hour’s drive from here. Blanchet is also
looking to become the first PGA TOUR Labnoamérica player to win back-to-back tournaments
since Brady Schnell won the Visa Argenbne Open and the Shell Championship at the end of the
2017 season.
One of the 21 Brazilians playing in his nabonal open this week is Rafael Becker. He’s happy to
return to his home country.
“I’m always very proud to be able to show Brazil to so many friends that I have on Tour. For me
personally, it’s great to be here, with friends and family, the Brazilian caddies as well. It’s always
a big, fesbve environment when everybody comes here. Everyone around here loves golf, and
it’s very enjoyable to have this championship here,” said Becker, No. 43 in the Totalplay Cup
standings but coming off a missed cut last week in Argenbna in what was his 100th career start.
“It’s always a pleasure to be here at Fazenda Boa Vista. I have been lucky to be able to pracbce
here ouen when I’m in Brazil, and to play a tournament here it’s incredible. It’s a course that I
know well, a course that I like.”
Jaime Lopez Rivarola found Fazenda Boa Vista to his liking a year ago as he won his first PGA
TOUR Labnoamérica btle, defeabng Rowin Caron by a shot.
“You have to stay pabent out there. It’s true that on many occasions this course invites you to
be aggressive, to be a bit more defiant, but on most of those it can bite you,” observed Lopez
Rivarola, 62nd in the Totalplay Cup standings. “What I did last year was stay pabent and sbck to
my game plan for the week regardless of how confident I felt about a certain club. I hit the club
that I originally planned for, so I hope to do the same this week.”
Another player looking to jumpstart his season is Connor Black. He has yet to play on the
weekend this season, missing the cut on the number at both the Termas de Rio Hondo
Invitabonal (3-under) and the Roberto De Vicenzo Memorial 100 Years.
Black is both impressed and in awe of Fazenda Boa Vista.
“The first bme I saw it I felt like I was walking through Avatar because the trees are so big and
everything is so beaubful,” he said of the course that opened in 2016. “For me, it’s my fourth
event this season, and I think it’s my favorite golf course. It’s a massive property, but it’s not a
very long course, which is very interesbng. You have to feel like you are on your toes a liKle bit
because it wants to invite you to just hit driver everywhere, and I’m not sure that’s the best
strategy.
“The last two weeks I was close. I think I’m playing good enough, as long as I make some puKs.
I’m striking it well, my stats are good, so I feel like if you put too much into the week, it’s going
to be really hard to do well, so (I’m) trying to stay in that liKle bubble of my process and then
realize that in the fall I’m going to be going to Q-School, no maKer what, so it’s just a part of the
process.
Tournament Fast Facts
Official Name: JHSF Brazil Open
Hashtag: #BrazilOpen
Dates: March 30-April 2, 2023
Host venue: Fazenda Boa Vista, Par 71 (35-36) 6,830 yards
Field: 144 players from 18 countries
Countries and territories represented in the field: Argenbna, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Cuba, England, Finland, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Puerto Rico, Scotland,
South Korea, Sweden and United States
Defending champion: Jaime Lopez Rivarola
Purse: U.S. $175,000 – Winner’s share U.S. $31,500
Totalplay Cup points: Awarded to the top-55 and bes, with 500 going to the winner
Cut: Top 55 and bes
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