Photo by Shayan (USA)

Let’s Play Two: PGA TOUR and
World Classic Baseball in Puerto Rico

By Nelson Silverio and Mark Stevens-PGA TOUR

March 4, 2009, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico — A sports fan’s dream is taking place in Puerto Rico next week as the world’s top athletes in golf and baseball converge on the Isle of Enchantment.  On March 7-11, Puerto Rico will host four international teams as a first-round site for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan. On Thursday, March 12, the day after the WBC bracket’s championship game, 132 of the world’s finest golfers from 16 countries will begin play in the PGA TOUR’s second annual Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular.

The crack of the bat leads to the ball in the cup as the stars of the PGA TOUR will tackle the Trump International Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico March 12-15. Puerto Rico’s greatest golfer Juan “Chi-Chi” Rodriguez, an eight-time winner on the PGA TOUR, will return as tournament ambassador to hand out the trophy bearing his name.  The economic impact of the Puerto Rico Open on the island is significant. The Puerto Rico Open will be broadcasted in over 589 million households, in 231 countries and translated into 35 languages.  Additionally, the PGA TOUR players and their families, caddies and fans will be traveling to Puerto Rico to experience all the island has to offer, including El Yunque National Forest. Just across the street from Trump International Golf Club, El Yunque is currently in the running to become a New7Wonder of Nature.

The Puerto Rico Open field has combined for more than 100 PGA TOUR victories, including six major championships. U.S Open runner-up Rocco Mediate, Ryder Cup star J.B. Holmes and 18-year-old Tadd Fujikawa will be among those players battling defending champion Greg Kraft.  Mediate was defeated by Tiger Woods at the 2008 U.S. Open in a Monday playoff. Despite the loss, Mediate gained a legion of fans from around the world for his role in what has been described in media circles as one of the great major championships of all time.  Holmes, a two-time PGA TOUR champion, played for the United States at last year’s Ryder Cup, and is considered one of the top young stars on the PGA TOUR.

The teenager Fujikawa, a native of Hawaii, received a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Puerto Rico Open. Earlier this year, Fujikawa thrilled his hometown fans at the Sony Open in Hawaii with a third-round 8-under 62 to jump into contention at the event.  Fujikawa’s achievements on the course are all the more impressive considering he was born three months premature and doctors gave him a 50-50 chance of survival. He weighed 1 pound, 15 ounces and was so small that he could fit in his grandfather’s palm.  Fujikawa, along with Rodriguez, will be hosting a Junior Clinic on Tuesday for local youth.

Hispanic Presence in the Field

Four golfers from Puerto Rico who played in the 2008 Puerto Rico Open are scheduled to participate: Max Alverio, Rafael Campos (amateur), Wilfredo Morales and Miguel Suárez.  Additionally, in an effort to showcase up-and-coming Latin American players, the tournament is extending exemptions to the winners of select Tour de Las Américas events. The four players receiving these exemptions are Manual Villegas, Antti Ahokas, Estanislao Goya and Felipe Aguilar Schuler.

Villegas won the 2008 Colombian and Argentinean Open, and is the brother of PGA TOUR professional Camilo Villegas, both from Colombia. Manuel who followed in Camilo’s footsteps by playing golf at the University of Florida will make his first start on the PGA TOUR.  Ahokas, a member of the PGA European Tour, won the 103° Abierto VISA de la República presentado por Peugeot in Argentina as well as the ECCO Tour Championship in Denmark in 2008.

Goya, a native of Argentina, won the 2008 Tour de las Americas Order of Merit. He posted a course record 61 at Bonaventure Country Club in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., besting Johnny Miller’s 32 year record score by one. He won twice more in 2008, at the 77 Abierto VISA del Centro Presentado por Personel, and the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final on the PGA European Tour’s Challenge Tour.  Schuler, a native Chilean, won the 2008 Chilean Open and the 2008 Abierto del Golf Club de los Leones on the Tour de Las Américas before winning his first PGA European Tour event at the 2008 Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open.

Proceeds from the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular will support Fondos Unidos de Puerto Rico, a charity that allows for the development of initiatives that are benefiting children and young adults who reside in the local community.  Following last year’s inaugural event, the tournament donated more than $200,000 to the local Rio Grande chapter. The Puerto Rico Open is also taking the opportunity to raise awareness about environmental protection and responsibility.  For more information or to buy tickets you may contact:  787-728-8500 or visit www.ticketpop.com.

The World’s Best 10K was held on Sunday, March 1, 2009 on the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge in Carolina, Puerto Rico.  In the photo above you can see some of this year’s winners, including (from left to right) Sammy Kitawara (1rst - Kenya), Wilson Kipsang (3rd - Kenya), Moses Kipsiro (5th - Uganda), Kiplimo Kimutai (6th - Kenya), and Tilahun Regassa (8th - Ethiopia).  Click on the gallery below to see more event pictures, including some of the wackier runners (like this guy).  For a full list of winners and participants’ results click here.  To see more event pictures and find out how our own EyeTour.com runners did at the event, click here.

Puerto Rico is host to many sporting events each year, but most are not as high profile as the World’s Best 10K marathon, which has become in recent years a cultural phenomenon.  EyeTour decided to let its presence known in 2009’s event (you can see our EyeCandy photo gallery of the WB10K here) and sent our editorial team to follow two local runners ready to cross the WB10K finish line.  Our EyeTour.com ’sponsored’ runners, Alexis Gómez (25 - Trujillo Alto, PR) and Daniel Blanco (27 - San Juan, PR), gave it their all - but in the end could not out-pace this year’s winner, Sammy Kitawara from Kenya who ran an astounding 27:26 official time for the race.  Both however, were able to compete the race admirably, with Danny coming in at 1056 with 52:54 total time and Alexis placing 1919 with 59:42.  We’d like to congratulate them both for reaching their individual goals and thank them for wearing our (super cool and ultra-limited edition) EyeTour.com logo shirts.  Don’t worry guys, we’ll get ‘em next year!

This year the Festival Claridad celebrated its XXXV anniversary with the salsa sounds of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico.   The celebration took place at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium’s parking lot area and lasted from Thursday February 26, 2009 through the whole weekend.  El Gran Combo took the stage on the first night and wowed the crowd with their best known hits.  For more information about the Festival Claridad, click here.

Each year the Festival Claridad brings out the crowds for a weekend celebration of Puerto Rican identity full of music, arts & crafts, food, and drink.  This year was no exception as you’ll find in the gallery below.  See you next year!  For more information about the Festival Claridad, click here.

Photo by nautical2K, additional photography by tedkerwin

Birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the weather is starting to heat up.  Ah, the signs of spring.  Which means baseball season is upon us!

What better way to start it off than with the second edition of the World Baseball Classic (WBC).  2006’s inaugural tournament was a rousing success, stirring the passions of hardcore baseball fans from all over the world.  After two weeks of incredible baseball, Japan was crowned as the first ever WBC champion by defeating Cuba in a thrilling finale.  This year’s competition promises to be just as exciting.  Teams are divided into four groups - or pools - consisting of four countries each.  The top two teams of each pool advance to the second round.  Pool A’s Asian teams kick-start the action on March 5th while the rest of the groups begin play 2 days later.  For a schedule of the games and their venues click here.

San Juan’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium, home of the Santurce Crabbers of the Puerto Rico Baseball League,  will once again feature first-round games, this time hosting Pool D’s matchups from Saturday, March 7th to Wednesday, March 11th.  The upstart Panamanian and Dutch teams will try to upset the Puerto Rican (PR) and Dominican (DR) powerhouses - overwhelming favorites to win Pool D and reach the quarterfinals.  Historical rivals since the 1970’s - when the Caribbean Series restarted - “quisqueyanos” and “boricuas” take their baseball very seriously.  No doubt that a first-round matchup between the two would be a sold-out spectacle, the cheering evenly divided between Puerto Rican fans and the sizable Dominican population that resides on the island.

Led by superstars Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran, Puerto Rico’s national team will feature some new faces and some old favorites ready to step-up and contribute.  Meanwhile, the Dominican team is without reigning National League Most Valuable Player Albert Pujols but is sure to field an impressive lineup with popular favorite David Ortiz and the newest addition to the squad, third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Photos by P Pogo, SD Dirk, and Rafael Amado Deras

Pools B & C will play their games in Mexico City and Toronto, respectively, allowing home town fans the opportunity to watch their favorite players compete in the name of their countries.  Among the heavily favored nations competing in the tournament are USA, Venezuela, Japan, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.  Puerto Rico, Mexico, Korea and Canada are dark horses that could surprise with strong showings.  Regardless of who comes out on top, the game of baseball will benefit greatly from the international exposure as the game continues to grow and gain fans from across the globe.

For tickets to Pool D games in San Juan, and other venues, click here.