Three golfers shot under par first rounds at the Latin America Amateur Championship at Santa Maria Golf Club in Panama City, Panama.

Omar Morales, Santiago De La Fuente, and Jose Arzu all shot 1-under 69 to take the lead after the opening 18 holes. 

Morales recorded four birdies, a bogey, and a double bogey on the par-4 No. 7. De La Fuente recorded three birdies and two bogeys, and Arzu recorded four birdies and three bogeys. Arzu was 4-under through his first 12 holes, but a late bogey streak on holes No. 15, 16, and 17 saw him finish at 1-under. 

Morales came into the Championship as one of the favorites, based on his impressive 2023. The UCLA standout qualified for the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, finishing T6 at the Pacific Coast Amateur and winning the El Macero Classic.

Related: OMAR MORALES IS POISED FOR SUCCESS AT THE LATIN AMERICAN AMATEUR

Hector Ortega, Segundo Oliva Pinto, and Alejandro Villavicencio are T4 after rounds of even-par 70. Seven golfers are T7 at 1-over and three golfers are T14 at 2-over in the crowded leaderboard.

Founded by the Masters Tournament, The R&A, and the USGA, the LAAC was established to develop further 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.

Past winners include Aaron Jarvis, Joaquin Niemann, Alvaro Ortiz, and the defending champion Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira.