Amanali Classic: Joel Thelen Comes from Behind to Win Opening Tournament of the 2022-23 Mexican Professional Golf Tour

A motivated Joel Thelen came from behind to win the Amanali Classic, the tournament that opened the 2022-23 season of the Mexican Professional Golf Tour and offered a prize purse of 1.6 million pesos.

The American, who has been a member of the only paid circuit in our country for five seasons, posted a final round of 67 strokes for a total of 197 strokes, 19 under par, two ahead of Mexican Emilio González.

"I'm very happy, it's my first major victory as a professional," said Texan Thelen, who debuted as a champion in the paid sector at a tournament in Minnesota a few years ago. "I've been on the Mexican Professional Tour since the beginning and Mexico is undoubtedly my second home," added the winner of 265,000 pesos.

"It was a great day, Emilio González played very well and what can I say about Sebastián Vázquez throughout the tournament. I must recognize that Sebastián's 62 strokes on the first day motivated me a lot to play better and thanks to God, I got the victory," added the native of Fort Worth, Texas.

For the final round, Thelen started in the second position, one stroke behind Mexican Sebastián Vázquez, the third-place finisher (-15, 201) at the Amanali Country Club & Náutica, a par 72 course measuring 7,361 yards.

"I played very solid, I took full advantage of all the birdie opportunities I had. Every aspect of my game was key to defeat Sebastián and Emilio. I had patience and fortunately things went well for me on a wonderful course like Amanali," said Joel Thelen.

Six of the top ten money earners from the previous season were present at the Amanali Classic: José Toledo (1) from Guatemala, Manuel Torres (3) from Venezuela, as well as Mexicans Isidro Benítez (4), Oscar Fraustro (6), Juan Carlos Benítez (8), and Rodolfo Cazaubón (10).

ProAm

The winning team of the ProAm was led by professional Luis Felipe Torres and amateurs Mauricio Almeida, Tersos Hernández, Armando Tapia, and Uzziel Peña. The second place went to Juan de Jesús Gómez Naranjo, Alfredo Minutti, Héctor Estrada, Benito Gómez, and professional Gonzalo Rubio.

Finally, the third position belonged to the team led by professional Juan Carlos Benítez and amateurs José Luis Abed, Emiliano Abed, José Alberto Delgado, and José Francisco Pérez.