Tag: Mayakoba

Masters invitation awaits for Abel Gallegos, Argentina’s first Latin America Amateur champion

Abel Gallegas becomes the first player from Argentina to win the Latin America Amateur

The Latin America Amateur Championship has provided a solid metric for golf’s growth in this particular region. An initiative that began in Argentina six years ago finally has an Argentinian winner. Abel Gallegos, a 17-year-old who learned the game on a small nine-hole course just outside Buenos Aires, calmly claimed his country’s first title in the event, securing a long list of coveted playing opportunities in the process.

Gallegos used a final-round 67 at El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, to climb back from 2 down at the start of Sunday’s fourth and final round. Birdies at Nos. 3, 5 and 7 helped him step into the lead and he never relinquished it. He finished at 4 under and four ahead of runner-up Aaron Terrazas of Mexico.

Leaderboard: Latin America Amateur Championship

He becomes the first of six LAAC winners to hail from Argentina, where Pilar Golf in Buenos Aires hosted the inaugural championship in 2015.

“It’s an incredible moment,” Gallegos said through a translator at the start of the awards ceremony at Mayakoba. “I dedicate this win to all of Argentina, they’re always backing me. And it’s just for them.”

Gallegos was a first-time participant in this year’s LAAC and was one of eight players from Argentina in the field. Five of his compatriots joined him inside the top 20.

He earns the traditional Masters invitation reserved for the winner of the LAAC and also becomes the event’s first champion to receive an invitation to the British Open. Invitations to the British Amateur and U.S. Amateur, along with a pass to U.S. Open sectional qualifying, are also on the table.

The Masters invite, however, is the one that sparkles.

“It’s incredible, I think I’m in a dream,” Gallegos said. “Right now I have to enjoy and be part of it with my family.”

[opinary poll=”would-you-rather-watch-team-golf-or-indi” customer=”golfweek”]

Former Texas Tech golfer takes early 2-shot lead at Latin America Amateur

At 15, Lukas Roessler of Chile is one of the youngest players in the field this week with a spot in the Masters up for grabs.

Ivan Camilo Ramirez isn’t getting too far ahead of himself after opening with a two-shot lead Thursday at the Latin America Amateur Championship with a spot in the Masters and the British Open on the line.

Ramirez, a 22-year-old from Colombia, found himself at 2 over after three holes in windy conditions, but he was able to stay calm and finished with five birdies in his round of 3-under 68 at Mayakoba’s El Camaleón Golf Club.

“It wasn’t the start that I wanted, but at end of the day, it’s 18 holes today, 18 tomorrow, 18 on Saturday and 18 on Sunday,” said Ramirez, who played at Texas Tech and finished fourth individually at the 2018 NCAA championships. “It’s just a lot of holes that you have to stay calm and stay patient.”

Chileans Lukas Roessler and Gabriel Morgan Birke are tied for second at 1 under. At 15, Roessler is one of the youngest players in the field this week. His older brother, Toto Gana, won the 2017 LAAC at Club de Golf in Panama. Gana shot a 77 Thursday.

“It was an incredible moment when he won, and we realized if you practiced a lot, you could go far,” Roessler said. “He wasn’t that good at the beginning, but then he practiced a lot and he became a good player then, so that gave us motivation to keep on practicing.”

Roessler shares the same coach, Alvaro Miguel, as his brother and Joaquin Niemann, the 2018 LAAC winner. Niemann became the first Chilean player to win on the PGA Tour at the 2019 Greenbrier tournament.  The 21-year-old tied for fifth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions to start the year.

Ramirez has played in all six previous editions of the LAAC. Last year he tied for ninth at the LAAC played at Teeth of the Dog in the Dominican Republic after missing the cut in 2018.

“I feel like a few of the last years that I haven’t played well, I’ve put too much pressure on myself. So, this week, I just want to enjoy it,” Ramirez said. “It’s a great chance to play in the Masters and The Open, but I think the prizes have to stay out of my mind.  I just need to play golf.  I need to play 54 more holes and follow the plan that I have. “