Ricky Castillo did not pick a terrible time to produce his best round of the season on the PGA Tour, as he posted a 62 on the final day of The RSM Classic.
Heading into Sunday in Georgia, Ricky Castillo appeared to have next to no chance of remaining a full member of the PGA Tour. The 24-year-old began the week 135th in the FedEx Cup standings.
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He went into the final round of The RSM Classic just inside the top 20. However, Castillo needed to finish in the top two at Sea Island to stand any chance of avoiding being left with conditional status for 2026.
What followed was a performance reminiscent of Joel Dahmen‘s heroics at the same event 12 months ago, with Castillo posting a 62 to give himself a lifeline.
Ricky Castillo shares what he learned from playing alongside Scottie Scheffler earlier this year
The American made seven birdies on the front nine as he went on to move into contention for a first PGA Tour victory.
Ultimately, it was not quite enough. Castillo ended up finishing third as Sami Valimaki won by one over Max McGreevy.
With that, Castillo looks set to finish 102nd in the standings.
Obviously, that does not mean the end of his PGA Tour career by any means. But clearly, he has got an uphill battle securing starts next season as a conditional member.
However, he has learned plenty during his first year on the PGA Tour, with the opportunity to play alongside Scottie Scheffler during the third round of The CJ CUP Byron Nelson sticking out to him.
“I feel like I learned a lot from playing with Scottie in May, just how his mindset is. I mean, that’s why he’s the best player in the world and he’s constantly the best player in the world. I mean, I felt like I learned a lot just playing with him,” he said.
“Just I feel like you just get used to it, just being out here. It’s so difficult to beat yourself up and play well out here. It’s just like no one’s going to be able to do it consistently so you just have to be able to have a good mindset and be ready for anything.”
Ricky Castillo issues his verdict on his debut PGA Tour season
It would be easy for Castillo to focus on the one big mistake he made during the final round. A bogey on 12 proved to be particularly costly as he ended up just one shot back of being in that tie for second.
Unfortunately, he missed a par putt from inside three feet. And sadly, that has largely been the story of his season in many respects with so many close calls.
Castillo noted that he has not been too far away on a number of occasions throughout the year.
“Honestly, I feel like everything’s been really close for a long time. I missed eight cuts by one shot this year. It’s just been one of those years where it’s been really close,” he said.
“It could have been really good, but it hasn’t really clicked. Finally clicked this week when I felt like I was on greens that I know and that I’ve played before and I’ve putted well on before. I think just having that comfortability here was nice.”
It is a brutal reality facing Castillo now that he has lost his full playing privileges for the time being. But he can take a number of positives from his season, particularly after firing a 62 when the pressure should have been at its most intense.
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