Amateurs
Spots in the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship are on the line in Argentina at the Latin America Amateur Championship
David Paul Morris
The 10th edition of the Latin America Amateur Championship takes place this week at Pilar Golf Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a field of 108 golfers ages 15 to 56, all dreaming about the rewards that await the winner on Sunday: invitations to this year’s Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship.
Indeed, those major opportunities have helped fuel the growth of the event since Augusta National, the USGA and the R&A launched it in 2015. Over the course the past decade, the quality of the field has increased with the incentive for players to develop their games with the goal of competing in the event and potentially to play their way into major championships. This year, 62 players competing are either past, current or future U.S. college golfers.
“I think what's happened is that the quality of play in this championship and in the region in general has improved so much during the last decade,” said Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley a year ago at the LAAC. “I think that the universities are taking notice, and I think that the young people here realize that they are great opportunities, and then following that path.
"We are very pleased about that, and we are seeing more and more, we've had a number of players playing the Masters that have played college golf and come through the Latin America Amateur Championship. It's been a great feeder to get players into the U.S."
There are also rewards for the runners-up in the 72-hole stroke-play competition, as they will be exempt into final stages of qualifying for the U.S. Open and Open Championship.
Here’s what you need to know about this week’s championship:
Back for more
This year's LAAC host, Pilar Golf Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was also the site for the inaugural event in 2015.
Thomas Lovelock
It’s fitting the LAAC celebrates its 10th year at Pilar Golf Club. The course hosted the inaugural edition of the event in 2015.
Eight players who competed in that original tournament are back this week (Jose Luis Montaño, Erick Morales, Alvaro Ortiz, Herik Machado, Jarryd Dillas, Jeronimo Esteve, William Fookes Slesarew and Miguel Ordoñez).
Experienced field
Sixteen of the top 17 finishers in last year’s LAAC at Santa Maria Golf Club in Panama are playing again this time around, with only the 2024 champion, Santiago de la Fuente, missing. Eighty-one players in the field have competed in the LAAC previous, with 68 back from last year.
17 of the top 200 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking are in the field
Mexico's Omar Morales finished runner-up at the LAAC in 2024. He is the highest ranked player in the field this week at 13th.
Logan Whitton
Mexico’s Omar Morales, a senior at UCLA, stands at 13th in the WAGR, the highest-ranked player in the LAAC field. The 21-year-old finished runner-up a year ago, two shots behind de la Fuente after holding a share of the lead the first three days. Morales qualified for the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles C.C., where he was given the honor of hitting the opening tee shot, and also played his way into the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
“I feel that my short game is much better than in Panama,” Morales said this week, “and I have a bigger array of shots on the course, which gives me more options to play conservative or aggressive.”
Other top-ranked players include:
Jose Luis Montano, Bolivia, age 28 (WAGR: 43)
Justin Hastings, Cayman Islands, 21 (47)
Andrey Xavier, Brazil, 23 (57)
Herik Machado, Brazil, 27 (61)
Alejandro Villavicencio, Guatemala, 45 (105)
Omar Tejeira Jaén, Panama, 34 (132)
Joaquin Luduena, Argentina, 26 (134)
One past champion is also in the field: Aaron Jarvis, the winner in 2022 who is making his fifth start in the championship.
How to watch
The championship airs on ESPN’s networks live from 1-4 p.m. EST Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday. The broadcast team features Rich Lerner as host, Andy North as analyst, Iona Stephen and Steve Burkowski as on-course reporters and John Sutcliffe handling interviews.
Past Champions
2015: Matias Dominguez (Chile), Pilar Golf (Argentina)
2016: Paul Chaplet (Costa Rica), Casa De Campo (Dominican Republic)
2017: Toto Gana (Chile), Club de Golf de Panamá (Panamá)
2018: Joaquin Niemann (Chile), Prince of Wales Country Club (Chile)
Enrique Berardi/LAAC
2019: Alvaro Ortiz (Mexico), Casa De Campo (Dominican Republic)
2020: Abel Gallegos (Argentina), El Camaleon Golf Club (Mexico)
2022: Aaron Jarvis (Cayman Islands), Casa De Campo (Dominican Republic)
2023: Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (Argentina), Grand Reserve Golf Club (Puerto Rico)
2024: Santiago de la Fuente (Mexico), Santa María Golf Club (Panamá)