PANAMA CITY, Panama (January 12, 2017) -- An
invitation to the Masters is on the line this week at
the Latin America Amateur set to be played at Club
de Golf de Panama. In its third year running,
the 72-hole Latin America Amateur will tee off on
Thursday and continue through Sunday. The Latin
America Amateur was created by
The Masters, R&A and USGA in hopes of growing the
game in Latin America.
Along with earning a spot in April's Masters the
winner will earn exemptions into the 2017 British
Amateur, U.S. Amateur and any other USGA
amateur event in which the winner is eligible for.
Furthermore, the winner and runner-up will receive
exemptions into the final stages of qualifying for the
U.S. Open and British Open.
The site of this years event is the
aforementioned Club de Golf de Panama. Built in
1974 by Jay Riviere and Charles Schaeffer the
course
is a par-72 layout that when played from the tips
can
be stretched to 7,106 yards. There appears to be an
opportunity during the middle portion of the course
for players to get on a run. From Nos. 9-12 there
are
three of the courses four par-5's.
First and
Second Round Tee Times
Club de Golf de Panama has been the site of the
Web.com Tour’s Panama Claro Championship since
2004.
Last year Paul Chaplet captured the title with a
slim one-stroke victory over Jorge
Garcia while
Matias Dominguez took the inaugural championship
in 2015.
_______________________________________
The field of 108 competitors includes defending
champion Paul Chaplet and six
players in the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf
Rankings. Here is a look at the six:
No. 5 Joaquin Niemann-
From Chile,
Niemann will be looking to improve on a tie for third
at
last year's Latin America Amateur when he finished
two-strokes behind Chaplet. During the 2016 season
Niemann reached the Round of 16 at the U.S.
Amateur.
No. 43 Alejandro Tosti-
Currently a
junior at Florida, there may be nobody that has
played
better in the Latin America Amateur over the last
two years than Tosti. In 2015, the
Argentine native was the runner-up before sharing
third in 2016. Last year was filled with good finishes
for Tosti, most notably a win at the Tavistock
Collegiate Invitational and a second place finish at
the NCAA Central Regional.
No. 44 Matias Dominguez-
From Chile,
the winner in 2015 is making his third appearance in
the event and looking to become the first multiple-
time champion.
No. 48 Jorge Garcia- A runner-
up one
year ago, Garcia will be looking
to do one better in 2017. The Florida sophomore
from Venezuela has been sharp of late and most
recently tied for fifth at the South Beach
International in his title defense.
No. 57 Claudio Correa- The
2015 Mexican International Amateur winner is back
and hoping to improve on a tie for 13th in last years
event. Correa, a native of Chile, is currently a junior
for the South Florida Bulls and last season he shared
fifth at the NCAA Southwest Regional. Correa also
showed well with a tie of eighth place at the
Sunnehanna Amateur.
No. 99 Cristobal del
Solar- A redshirt senior at Florida State, del
Solar is coming off a breakout junior season that
saw
him earn a spot on the All-ACC team. The Chile
native finished second at the 2016 Tailhade Cup and
tied for eighth at the Sunnehanna Amateur.
_______________________________________
Viewing options for the Latin America Amateur
will spread across five continents and 140 countries.
The broadcasts will air live for two hours each round
and they will feature Rich Learner (host), Andy
North
(analyst), Dottie Pepper (on-course reporter), Billy
Kratzert (on-course reporter) and John Sutcliffe
(interviews).
The Latin America Amateur will be broadcasted
by among other networks ESPN2 and ESPNNEWS
(USA), Le Sports (China), TSN (Canada), SuperSport
(Southern Africa), Fox Sports Asia (Asia) and
Eurosport (Europe). The event can also be live
streamed by clicking here.
LIVE BROADCAST SCHEDULE (EST)
First Round: 3-5 p.m.
Second Round: 3-5 p.m.
Third Round: 1-3 p.m.
Fourth Round: 1-3 p.m.
The Latin America Amateur provided
information for this story
ABOUT THE
Latin America Amateur
Founded by the Masters Tournament, The R&A and
the USGA, the LAAC was established to further
develop amateur golf in South America, Central
America, Mexico and the Caribbean. The LAAC is a
72-hole stroke play event open to a field of 108
amateur players in Latin America, chosen by their
respective national federations according to their
World Amateur Golf Ranking. Past winners of the
championship, as well as last year’s top-five
finishers, are automatically entered into this year’s
championship.
The LAAC champion annually receives an invitation
to compete in the Masters at Augusta National Golf
Club, the U.S. Open and the British Open. The
champion is also awarded full exemptions into The
Amateur
Championship, the US Amateur Championship and
any other USGA amateur championship for which he
is eligible.
View Complete Tournament Information