“To see him do what he did a few years ago really inspired the whole island and inspired me and taught us that we can compete out here and we can do these great things,” said Hastings of Jarvis. “To be able to follow in his footsteps a few years later and get it done is super amazing.”

Hastings shined on Saturday morning, matching the Championship record for birdies in a single round (nine) on his way to a seven-under 64 and the solo lead after the third round. Just before starting his final round, inclement weather forced a delay of just over an hour.

The San Diego State University senior carded just one bogey and three birdies through 12 holes when an errant drive on the par-5 13th went out of bounds. The resulting bogey and coinciding birdie by Sparks, who fired a four-under 68 in the final round, narrowed the lead to just one.

A bogey on hole No. 14 from Sparks brought the lead back to two, but he nearly found the water on the par-4 15th before saving par. Sparks responded with a 15-foot birdie putt of his own, again reducing the lead to just one shot with two holes to play.

“Somehow, it hung up in the hazard line, but it was actually a good lie,” said Hastings of his shot at the 15th. “And when that happened, I turned to my dad, my caddie, and said I knew it's meant for us this week. That happened when I won my first college event.”

As darkness approached, the Peruvian faltered, missing a short par putt on the par-3 17th hole. That would prove to be the difference as Sparks fell one stroke shy of an opportunity to become the first player representing Peru to win the Latin America Amateur.

“I'm very proud of the performance and coming one shot short,” said Sparks. “It definitely hurts a little bit, but it keeps me motivated and keeps me wanting to come back. Hopefully it will be better next year.”

The 23-year-old, a recent graduate and current assistant coach for the University of North Carolina, Wilmington men’s golf team, will have a chance at redemption in his home country next year when the 11th edition of the Latin America Amateur is held at Lima Golf Club in Lima, Peru.

“I learned a lot being with the leaders,” said Sparks. “It’s a different type of pressure knowing three majors are on the line. I want to do better than this year, so hopefully that’s the year.”

Segundo Oliva Pinto, one of 11 players representing host country Argentina, finished T-3, his third top 10 in five appearances. He was joined at 14-under-par 277 by Mexico’s Gerardo Gomez, who was making his Championship debut, and Gabriel Palacios of Guatemala. Palacios’ finish was his best performance in the Latin America Amateur and tied the best finish by a player from Guatemala in Championship history.