Masters Invite on the line at Latin America Amateur
1/12/2017 | by Sam Dostaler of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Latin America Amateur Championship, Lima Golf Club
The 72-hole tournament begins Thursday and the field includes WAGR No. 6 Joaquin Niemann, 2015 champion Matias Dominguez and defending champ Paul Chaplet
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 TimesClub 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 play...
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