Now prepping for Dallas, Ortiz sheds light on U.S. Open survivalist mindset

Carlos Ortiz of Torque GC delivered his best major championship performance at last week’s U.S. Open at Oakmont, securing exemptions into the 2026 Masters and U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in the process.

His T4 finish in one of the most grueling events imaginable – where only one player in the field ended up under par – showcased his mental toughness and strategic focus. While speaking at LIV Golf Dallas presented by Aramco media day on Wednesday at Maridoe Golf Club, the 34-year-old shared his mentality during the challenging week at Oakmont.

“Honestly, survive. I was trying to do my best. There’s no bailouts. There’s trouble everywhere. There’s no safe spot there. You hit the fairway and you’re like, okay, let’s just hit the green. You get on the green, you’re like, let’s just two-putt. It’s that kind of feeling from when you start to when you finish,” he said.

Despite setbacks, particularly in the second round, Ortiz regrouped. “I crashed the car a couple times, especially the second round I crashed it, but I was able to put the wheels back on and keep going, and it was just surviving,” he added.

His approach centered on staying present and focusing on effort over outcome. “My goal was simple, just do my best. Obviously, I was trying to hit the best shot I could. I was trying to be brave. I was trying to just hit the shot that was required and don’t care about the result, just trying to do my best because if you’re just doing your best, whatever happened, it’s what else could have happened, that’s what was supposed to happen,” Ortiz explained.

He stressed the importance of staying present during the round and not focusing on the big picture. “To do your best, you have to be in that moment, not behind or not forward. You have to be just there and put your mind into, with what I have, how can I do the best result I can. I just went in with that mentality all week.”

Ortiz’s resilience kept him in contention on the back nine of major championship Sunday. “It could happen to anybody. There were like six, seven players right there with maybe five, six holes to play,” he recalled.

His ability to stay focused propelled him to the career-defining finish. As he put it, “takes a lot of concentration to just be there where your feet are every moment and really just don’t care about what’s going to happen or what happened, and just try to do your best each and every time.”

David Feherty, also speaking at the LIV Dallas media day, praised Ortiz’s performance: “You had a great week last week at the U.S. Open, Carlos. I mean, just a break here or there, you could easily have won that event.”

Ortiz acknowledged it was anyone’s tournament while also appreciating the performance of the winner, J.J. Spaun.

"That's what J.J. Spaun did really well,” he said. “He survived. He made several mistakes early but then he just hung in there, and the way the golf course is, if you hit good shots, especially when it got soft, you could hit it close, so he made some birdies, and how [Feherty] said, it could happen to anybody.”

Ortiz’s U.S. Open performance was the best finish by a Mexican player in a major championship.

As he prepares for LIV Golf Dallas, Ortiz now carries the confidence of a player who’s been squarely in the mix at a major. He also has had an excellent season for LIV Golf and ranks 7th in the individual season standings with top 5 finishes at both Adelaide (T2) and Miami (4th).

“I guess Texas is like my second home. I’ve said it for a long time, probably almost half of my life I’ve been here. I really feel comfortable,” he said, reflecting on his connection to the region where he’ll compete next week.