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The last time Jhonattan Vegas returned to his native Venezuela was about a decade ago.
Even though he’s the only golfer to represent his country in the Olympics, twice, in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. Even though he’s the first and only person from there to earn a PGA Tour card and win.
Even though he began to learn the game there, hitting rocks with a broomstick.
The U.S. Department of State categorizes the country with its most stern label: “Level 4: Do not travel.” Think Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, Somalia and Yemen.
The warnings become more ominous, spelling out that homicide, armed robbery and kidnapping are “common” with advice to draft a will and designate insurance beneficiaries if you ignore all those stop signs.
That leaves Vegas, a four-time Tour winner, wrestling with a confounding blur of pride and despair.
“Oh God, it’s been very rough for so many years,” said Vegas, who shot a solid 2-under 70 Wednesday on the bully South Course in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
“It hurts not being able to share your success with your country because of political reasons. My heart aches every single day for the people who have to go through that.”
Vegas, 40, became a singular success story in Venezuela.
In a country where golf is relegated to an afterthought, Vegas worked on his game at a nine-hole course built for oil company workers. The obstacles to the game failed to derail him.
Vegas joined the Tour in 2011 and is playing his 311th event, earning nearly $19.4 million. In addition to the quartet of wins, he’s been a runner-up three times with 19 top-five finishes.
The last win came at the 3M Open in 2024, extinguishing a seven-year drought.
“Very satisfying,” Vegas said. “A lot of hard work had been put in those seven years. Coming back from injuries and from a long drought, it makes the win very special.
“You’ve just got to believe in your skills. If you do that, you always have a chance.”
That victory also delivered a beyond-rare moment.
In Vegas’ final round on the par-5 12th hole, a shot bounced into the crook of the arm of a police officer. The fact the officer had his arms crossed at the time and did not allow the ball to drop potentially avoided a calamitous lie among the trees.
“Only once,” Vegas said with a laugh when asked if he’d experienced something that bizarre before or since. “It didn’t end up too bad.”
And that broomstick?
“I would grab anything that would look like a golf club and I would hit anything that looked like a golf ball,” Vegas said of his first golf leanings as a child. “I’ve got pictures as a kid swinging a broomstick around and breaking everything.
“That’s one of the first few memories.”
That made what awaited all the more incredible.
Vegas beams at his memories of the Olympics, first in 2016 and then tying for 16th in 2021 when the Tokyo Games were delayed a year because of the global pandemic.
“Nobody can take that away,” he said.
Walking in a pair of opening ceremonies gives him chills to this day.
“That was very emotional,” Vegas said. “You see Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. The biggest stage in sports, representing your country, carrying your country’s colors, it just doesn’t get bigger than that.”
Vegas survived the South Course on Wednesday, where anything below par deserves a survivor merit badge. He carded three birdies on the front at Nos. 3, 8 and 9.
The sole misstep came on No. 10, where he bogeyed. That in itself was an accomplishment: The track can shred a scorecard in a blink.
“You always want to start with red (numbers) on the South,” he said. “Knowing how difficult this course plays, starting in the red is always positive.”
Another positive, long-term, would be a change of fortunes for his beloved Venezuela.
The country, according to EconomicsObservatory.com, “has seen the largest ever decline in living standards outside war, revolution or the collapse of the state.” Living standards in the formerly oil-rich country dropped 74% from 2013-23, according to its math.
“It’s been a long time, not being able to put a foot in your country,” Vegas said. “I pray that sooner than later we get a new government and things can go back to normal.”
Pride. Despair. And hope.
Always hope.
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