College teammates Muñoz, Ortiz hope to thrive on their old stomping grounds in North Texas

CARROLLTON, Texas – Carlos Ortiz was halfway through his career at the University of North Texas when he met a recruit from Colombia. The kid wasn’t sure if golf was a potential long-term career or just a way to help pay for college, but he was excited to be offered a visit by Mean Green coach Brad Stracke and wanted to take a look.

That was the first time Ortiz met Sebastián Muñoz. It was 2011. They quickly hit it off and soon became college teammates at the university located in Denton, north of the DFW Metroplex.

“Just felt like the right place,” recalled Muñoz, who never visited another college.

It’s 14 years later and they’re still teammates, only now as members of Joaquin Niemann’s Torque GC team. They’re also local residents, which means this week’s LIV Golf Dallas presented by Aramco is a home game.

But not just any home game. The tournament’s host site, Maridoe Golf Club, is the home course of North Texas’ golf teams. Both Ortiz and Muñoz have significant history at Maridoe and know the course better than everybody else in the 54-man field.

It’s no surprise that Torque – with that local knowledge as well as a red-hot Niemann, winner of four of this season’s first eight LIV Golf individual titles – is one of the favorites this week to claim the team title. It would be their first since 2023.

But it’s also a chance for Ortiz and Muñoz to reminisce a bit. They each produced successful college careers, two of the four players since Stracke took over the program in 2008 to win individual conference championships. Ortiz won the Sun Belt title in 2010-11; Muñoz won Conference USA in 2014-15.

They were teammates for two years, friends forever.

“So cool to grow up with your fellow teammates or your family and kind of talking about the hard stuff, the good stuff, and kind of come to conclusions and kind of make you a better person,” said the 32-year-old Muñoz, listed in the school’s record books by his first name Juan. “I feel like that's something that is kind of magical.”

“So grateful with UNT for everything they did for us,” added the 34-year-old Ortiz, fresh off his finest major performance, a T4 at the U.S. Open. “We sure wouldn't be here without the support that the school gave us, and we'll be always thankful for them.”

Ortiz, born in Guadalajara, Mexico, obviously grew up closer to Texas than Muñoz did. Like Muñoz, he explored college options without having much of a preference. And like Muñoz, he quickly reduced his options to one after visiting North Texas.

“I didn't really know where I was going to play,” Ortiz said. “I came here; I didn't really go any other places. It worked out; it was close to home. Dallas is a great city.”

He was one of Stracke’s early recruits and it didn’t take long for him to produce results. His Sun Belt title came in his sophomore year, one of three wins that season. He had 11 more top 10s the next two years. Although he majored in International Studies, his focus was becoming a tour pro.

For Muñoz, it took a bit longer. He made just six starts in his first two seasons. Unlike Ortiz, he had an appealing non-golf opportunity, to return to Colombia with a college degree and explore business opportunities involving his family’s rubber tree plantation.

Ortiz, as the older treatment, saw the potential of Muñoz the golfer and tried to pull more from him.

“He’s like, ‘I’m just here for a little bit and then I’m going to go back home and work with my dad,’” Ortiz recalled. “I’m like, ‘Dude, come on, try a little bit harder.”

Ironically, the inspiration ramped up after Ortiz’s eligibility expired in 2013. A year later, playing on the developmental Web.com Tour, he went on a tear, winning three times in a six-month span. He also won an event in Muñoz’s native Colombia. Muñoz took notice of his friend’s success. It changed his outlook.

“I was like, well, if he did it, maybe I can too,” Muñoz said. “That was the end of that.”

They both plied their trades on various tours, and with varying degrees of success. Muñoz broke through with a win on the PGA Tour in 2019; Ortiz did likewise a year later.

In late June of 2022, Ortiz made the leap to LIV Golf, arriving in time to play for Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC in the league’s second-ever tournament at Portland. He immediately made a statement with a solo second.

Meanwhile, Muñoz was selected for the International Team at the 2022 Presidents Cup that fall. One of his teammates was Mito Pereira of Chile. Both Muñoz and Pereira joined LIV prior to the 2023 season to play for Torque. Last season, Ortiz joined Niemann’s team.

The allure of joining a close-knit team was a big factor in their decisions. So was having a playing schedule that suited their lifestyles and interests, particularly with their growing families.

“I felt like the Tour was taking a lot of my personal time, my family time, my time of me growing as a human, and I felt like if I just kept putting 30 weeks a year, I was going to wake up at 40 not really knowing who I was and what I was going to do,” Muñoz said.

Said Ortiz: “I have four daughters, so for me it was like, OK, where do I sign up? This is perfect. This is exactly what I asked for. It's been unbelievable.”

For those two ex-UNT stars, it’s been a return to the team concept they enjoyed more than a decade ago in Denton. The desire to play well for their teammates gives them an edge that didn’t exist while grinding out the lonely weeks as independent contractors.

The proof is in their performances.

Ortiz won his first LIV Golf individual title last year in Houston and has finished inside the top 15 in the season-long points race in each of his first three years; he’s currently 7th this year. “I'm having a blast with these people,” Ortiz said. “I'm working harder than ever and we're traveling the world.”

Muñoz is right in front of him in 6th. Since the start of the 2024 season, he has arguably been LIV Golf’s most consistent performer without a victory. He ranked 11th in points a year ago.

About the only thing they haven’t shared is a LIV Golf team win. Torque has four career titles, but none since Ortiz joined the team.

But this week is a home game on a familiar course, with a team that’s overdue and a nearby college that will be rooting them on. Do you believe in the Mean Green? Two past-and-present teammates hope you do.