Oliva Pinto outlasts Heller to deliver first Argentine win since 2022
November 16, 2025 | by Amit Pandey of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Argentine Stroke Play Championship, Olivos Golf Club
Segundo Oliva Pinto ends Argentina’s three-year drought with an 11-under win
Argentina’s Segundo Oliva Pinto, a University of Arkansas graduate, returned the Argentine Stroke Play Championship trophy to the host nation for the first time in three years, winning the 2025 edition at Olivos Golf Club with a 72-hole total of 273 (11-under). His rounds of 67-71-64-71 earned him a two-shot victory over Denmark’s Mads Heller, who posted 69-69-69-68 to finish at 9-under 275.
Oliva Pinto, ranked 215th on the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com rankings, began the final round tied for the lead at 11-under with compatriot Franco Ricciardelli, playing at his home club. Birdies on Nos. 1 and 9 helped steady his momentum, while bogeys at 3 and 15 kept the door slightly open. But as conditions tightened, so did Oliva Pinto’s control. His even-par 71 was enough to pull clear as Ricciardelli faded with a 74, dropping him to third at eight-under.
His win ends a two-year run of foreign champions — Brazil’s Andrey Borges Xavier in 2024 and Canada’s Brady McKinlay in 2023 — making Oliva Pinto the first Argentine winner since Juan Martín Loureiro lifted the trophy in 2022.
Ana Giuliano dominates to capture women’s title
In the women’s division, Ana Giuliano of Río Cuarto Golf Club delivered a commanding performance to earn her first National Stroke Play crown with a 4-under 212 total — the only under-par score in the field. Her rounds of 76-67-69 gave her a remarkable 16-shot victory, one of the largest margins in recent tournament history.Giuliano, the top-ranked amateur from Argentina, seized the lead after her second-round 67 and never looked back. Her final-round 69 featured birdies at the 1st, 5th, 10th and 18th, with a single bogey on the 14th.
Fellow Río Cuarto player Bernardita Villalba finished second, while Julia Colombier of Argentina and Victoria Livieres of Paraguay shared third place at 229.
About the Argentine Stroke Play
72-hole stroke play event in Argentina. Second largest national event besides the Argentine Amateur, which is a match play event in the winter/spring.
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