Happy PGA homecoming for Vegas brothers at Cadillac Championship
Jhonattan Vegas walked the Blue Monster on Thursday with more than a gallery behind him.
His father, Carlos, his mother, Maritza, and his younger brother, Julio, followed him from hole to hole during the opening round of the Cadillac Championship. They offered encouragement throughout the day as Venezuela’s most accomplished golfer tried to settle into a week that already meant more than most.
On a course where his brother now teaches and in a city that feels closer to home than most PGA Tour stops, Thursday was never just about one round.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Vegas said earlier this week. “As a Latin American player, playing in Miami it means a lot. It means that we’re going to have a lot of support this week. … It feels a little bit like home.”
That feeling is real for good reason. Doral has one of the largest Venezuelan communities in the country, and this week places Vegas at the center of it. He is the only Venezuelan in the field, and he understands what it means to carry that flag in a sport where access has long been limited for many kids from his country and where baseball and soccer remain the more natural paths.
“Carrying the Venezuelan flag in golf, it means a lot,” Vegas said. “To be the only one from a country not known for golf… That actually feels good.”
That identity overlaps this week with something even more personal. Julio Vegas, 37, has worked at Trump National Doral for the past three years as a teaching professional, giving the brothers an unusual setup for tournament week: one competing inside the ropes, the other building his own place in the game on the same property.
Jhonattan, 41, called having Julio around “a big bonus this week” because of how much time his brother has spent at the course. After Thursday’s round, Julio put the moment in simpler terms.
“We saw him playing since he was little,” Julio said. “So to see him at this level is cool. I mean, he’s playing against the best players in the world. So it doesn’t get better than this.”
Golf, Jhonattan said, is “the thing that kind of connects everything” for the family. He pointed to the Vegas family tournament they play at the end of each year — a 3-on-3 competition that helps decide what Christmas and the rest of the family year will look like.
That bond was shaped long before this week at Doral. The brothers grew up in Venezuela, later spent important years in Texas, and came through the game under the guidance of the same mentor, longtime coach Franci Betancourt. Both brothers traced their development back to him, and both made clear that his influence still sits at the center of their story.
Julio described the competition between them growing up as constant, but healthy.
“We are really competitive, but healthy competition,” Julio said. “We tried to push each other.”
He also pointed to one of his favorite memories: playing tournaments with his brother, sharing the course and competing side-by-side.
That shared path is impossible to separate from one man. Betancourt helped shape both brothers from a young age and passed away earlier this year, leaving behind a legacy that echoes through their personalities.
Jhonattan said he spent about 30 years with Betancourt and still thinks about his lessons every time he steps onto a course.
“Nobody really enjoyed or had more fun on a golf course like he did,” Jhonattan said. “One of the things that he really taught me and ingrained in me was, you have to have that same passion, that same love for the game. … I’m who I am because of him.”
That may also be the trait Julio sees most clearly in his brother now.
“The joy,” Julio said, when asked what still reflects Betancourt most in Jhonattan.
“If you see him on the course, he’s always smiling, he’s always having a great time… I think that’s one of the things Franci gave us, that passion for the game.”
Julio spoke about Betancourt in similarly personal terms.
“He was one of those special persons that showed up in your life,” Julio said. “He was a huge part of our process growing up.”
For Julio, Betancourt’s influence was not limited to technique. He said one of the biggest things his mentor gave him was a love for the game itself.
“One of the things that Franci did for me was that he made the game so fun to be around,” Julio said. “That’s one of the reasons why I love this game so much.”
That influence carries into Julio’s own work now. Jhonattan said the way Julio teaches still carries “a big influence” from Betancourt, adding that his brother is going to carry on his legacy and “do some great things in golf teaching.”
Thursday’s round gave the story a tournament-day frame. Vegas opened with a 3-over-par 75, a score that looked steadier for much of the afternoon than the final number suggested. He hit 13 of 18 greens in regulation, made one birdie, 13 pars and four bogeys, and was even through 12 holes before the Blue Monster caught him late. Bogeys on 13, 16 and 17 pushed him back before he closed with a par on 18.
Just after his drive on the 18th hole, voices from the Vegas family rose from the gallery.
“Vamos! Vamos!”
Later, Julio smiled about it.
“We’re trying to push him a little bit,” he said. “Trying to get him a little bit out of that hole.”
That moment, small as it was, captured the larger point of the week. The Vegas family came to Doral with a player in the field, a teacher on the property and a memory they still carry together.
By day’s end, that work for Friday had become clearer. Vegas finished tied for 62nd after the 75, leaving him 11 shots off the lead set by Cameron Young, who posted an 8-under 64. Jordan Spieth closed Thursday tied for second at 7-under 65, while world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler finished the day tied for 29th at 1-under 71. With no cut this week, Vegas still has room to climb, but he will need a much stronger second round to move back toward contention.
For the Vegas brothers, this tournament already means something greater than a finishing position. It is a week in Miami that feels a little like home, and a reminder of how far two brothers from Venezuela have come in the same game, on the same property, through different roles.
Most of all, it is another chance to live inside a game they still love, the same way Franci Betancourt taught them to.
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 3:27 PM.
