Bay Hill, Florida, March 24, 2013. Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño locks down a noteworthy even par after the last round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The Madrid native battled it out through difficult conditions and wound up third.
That performance, together with ninth place at the WGC Accenture just one month before, meant Castaño made out nicely at the PGA Tour. He continued to excel thereafter with a place in the top ten at the US Open. However, looking back on the true origins of Gonzalo's new life, move to Miami in December included, it all started right here at this Orlando resort.
One year later, with the score card of the American tour at his fingertips, Gonzalo returns to come out strong and push through the new season, although not bad thus far (standing at 125th place in the PGA Tour rankings), still not meeting his expectations.
The course is in perfect conditions, partially thanks to the storm last Monday evening. “I couldn't practice the first day because of the rain, so yesterday was my first attempt at feeling out the course this time around. The greens are hard and fast. All the water from the rain made them more receptive, but they're still pretty fast considering it's just Tuesday, he explained for his website.
Gonzalo made the trip to Orlando with his entire family by his side. Yesterday after practice, he had dinner at Disney World, this magical fun castle only 10 minutes away from Bay Hill.
The Arnold Palmer starts this Thursday with the noticeable absence of the Tiger Woods fans, who announced his withdrawal from the tournament due to back problems that have been a recurring issue these past couple times. Gonzalo will play the first round starting at 7:59 am local time (12:59 Peninsular Spanish time) alongside American golfer Dicky Pride and Swedish golfer David Lingermerth.