Former Texas Tech player Guillermo “Mito” Pereira fired a 6-under 65 and was in the clubhouse tied for second place when lightning halted Friday’s second round of the men’s competition at the Olympics golf tournament.
Pereira, a 26-year-old Chilean, was 8-under through 36 holes, tied with 10-time European Tour winner Alex Noren from Sweden and one shot back of Carlos Ortiz, last year’s Vivint Houston Open winner from Mexico, who was still on the course.
“More than confident, it’s more like believing in yourself that you can do it,” Pereira said. “Obviously you get three wins on the Korn Ferry, it’s not easy, and then a couple Tour starts to get top 5 and top 6 in PGA Tour events, it’s a big deal for me. Like you never know if you can do it or not. I’m in a good place right now and just trying to enjoy it as much as I can.”
Pereira was halfway toward an Olympic medal, which would be another stellar achievement in what’s been a breakout year.
In 2021 on the Korn Ferry Tour, he won his second and third events of the 2020-21 season, earning an immediate automatic promotion to the PGA Tour. The past two weeks, he tied for fifth at the Barbosol Championship and tied for sixth at the 3M Open. He’s shot three rounds in the 60s in three consecutive PGA Tour events this month.
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Mito Pereira of Chile plays a shot on the 3rd hole in round 2 of the mens competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan on July 30, 2021. Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI/AFP via Getty Images
Pereira was in the first group to tee off early Friday at Kasumigaseki Country Club, and they were the only three to finish their round before the suspension. Pereira made six birdies, an eagle and two bogeys. He chipped in for the eagle at the par-4 No. 6.
Ortiz had a 3-under round going through seven holes, and Noren had a 4-under round through 16.
Former Tech player Hurly Long, representing Germany and coming off a 1-under 70 in the first round, opened the second with four pars before play was stopped.
Pereira shot 2-under 69 in Thursday’s first round, closing strong with birdies on holes No. 14, 15 and 17.
Mito Pereira 🇨🇱 lost his @KornFerryTour card in 2018 after 18 MC’s and was ranked #1193 in the world. In the last 18 months, he has 3 KFT wins and 2 r/ups. He’s made 4 @PGATOUR starts in the past month with 2 Top 6 finishes and now sits 2nd @OlympicGolf 💪🏆
— Ewan Porter (@ewanports) July 30, 2021
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