Santiago de la Fuente is the second golfer from Mexico to win the Latin American Amateur Championship
Getty Images
Nick Dunlap was not the one beginner golfer to make information this weekend.
On Sunday, because the headline-grabbing Dunlap sought to maintain up his sensational play towards the professionals within the American Express, in La Quinta, Santiago de la Fuente of Mexico grabbed the highlight on one other massive stage, firing a last spherical 6-under 64 to win the Latin American Amateur Championship, at Santa Maria Golf Club, in Panama City.
With his 8-under whole, two photographs away from countryman Omar Morales, de la Fuente punched his ticket to 3 of this yr’s 4 majors, beginning with the Masters, in April. The 22-year-old has additionally earned a spot into the U.S. Open, at Pinehurst, and the Open Championship, at Royal Troon, and now enjoys exemptions into each the U.S. Amateur and the Amateur championships.
“Not a bad summer, right?” de la Fuente stated of his upcoming schedule.
On a blustery day in Panama, de la Fuente began his last spherical three photographs again of Morales, who had seized the lead on Saturday with what was then a tournament-low 65. It didn’t take lengthy to slim the hole. On the par-5 second gap, a birdie by de la Fuente to Morales’ bogey trimmed the result in one, establishing a again 9 that primarily boiled right down to match-play between two younger males who’ve been competing towards one another since they had been children.
“I definitely knew this wasn’t going to be easy,” stated de la Fuente, a junior on the University of Houston. “I’ve known Omar since we were nine years old and I know how good of a player he is, so if I was going to win I was going to have to battle to the last hole.”
Argentina’s Fernandez de Oliveira units Latin America Amateur document, earns Masters invite
Jack Hirsh
It was not the primary time de la Fuente had battled down the stretch on this occasion. At the 2022 Latin American Amateur Championship, at Casa de Campo, within the Dominican Republic, de la Fuente had the title inside his grasp earlier than lipping out a brief birdie putt on the ultimate gap to lose by one to Aaron Jarvis of the Cayman Islands.
This time round, he did the other of stumble. Tied with Morales with two holes to play, de la Fuente completed birdie-birdie, stuffing his tee shot on the par-3 seventeenth to 18 inches to seize the lead by one, after which sealing the deal with an icy putt on the par-4 18th after Morales’ personal birdie bid had come up quick.
When his last putt dropped, de la Fuente gave a fist-pump, embraced his caddie after which sunk to his knees and wept.
“I don’t think there has been any better moment in my life so far,” he stated. “I’m very happy. The work I have done to get ready for this week during a couple months, after what happened in the Dominican Republic. And just trying to win this tournament. And right now, I can say I did it.”
Source link
