RIO GRANDE, PUERTO RICO – PGA Tour rookie Chandler Blanchet, who stunned the golf world by shooting an 8-under-par 64 to take the early lead at the Puerto Rico Open, admitted Thursday that he was initially under the impression the event was either a pro-am for a local real estate development or a highly elaborate prank.

“Honestly, when my caddie told me we were heading to the ‘Puerto Rico Open,’ I pictured a couple of guys in Hawaiian shirts, maybe a free buffet, and a trophy shaped like a pineapple,” Blanchet confessed after his round. “I even asked if we needed to bring our own beer cooler.”

Sources close to Blanchet confirmed he spent much of the morning Googling “PGA Tour schedule 2024” and “Is the Puerto Rico Open a major?” before finally accepting that his career-low round was indeed occurring at a legitimate, albeit less-televised, professional golf tournament. “He kept asking if the winner gets a green jacket or just a gift certificate to a local surf shop,” said his agent, Skip Henderson, who also admitted to having to double-check the prize money himself.

Blanchet’s impressive performance has now forced golf analysts to quickly learn his name, a task many are reportedly struggling with. “It’s like when a new streaming service drops a critically acclaimed show you’ve never heard of,” commented veteran golf pundit Barry ‘The Bogeyman’ Barnes. “You know it’s good, but you’re still trying to figure out where it fits in the grand scheme of things.”

Organizers of the Puerto Rico Open are reportedly thrilled with the unexpected attention, hoping it might finally help them distinguish their event from the annual ‘Puerto Rico Invitational for Retired Dentists’.