Latin America Amateur

Mateo Fuenmayor holds first round lead in Puerto Rico

The R&A

12 Jan 23

3 mins

Mateo Fuenmayor leads the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) at six-under par after day one at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Puerto Rico.

The Colombian fired a first-round 66 to hold pole position on the leaderboard, one shot ahead of a chasing pack of players sitting at five-under par, including Vicente Marzilio of Argentina, Chilean Martín Cancino and Mexican duo Santiago de la Fuente and Luis Carrera.

Impressive debut

Fuenmayor was in impressive form in his Championship debut, rolling in seven birdies during a round that included only one dropped shot, coming at the 12th. The 20-year-old is aiming to build on a T-7 finish in the South American Amateur Championship played in Ecuador last week. “It’s obviously a great start to the tournament,” said Fuenmayor. “I think my strength today was the play off the tee. I put a 2-iron off the tee just yesterday in practice and used it almost all day today. I was able to play from the fairway and attack pins, and from there I was able to make a lot of putts. The hole looked pretty big today, I'm not going to lie, but a really good start to the tournament.”

Duo go bogey-free

Marzilio and de la Fuente, who both finished tied for second place alongside Fred Biondi and Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira in last year’s Championship at Casa De Campo, carded bogey-free rounds of 67. “I've been thinking about this round for a long time, and it finally got here,” said Marzilio. "I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous last night and this morning because of the anxiety and the high expectations. I came with high expectations but at the same time I've got to keep them low and try to focus on what I need to do on the golf course.” Marzilio picked up an early birdie at the par-3 second hole before taking advantage of the par-5 sixth hole to move to two-under par. The 21-year-old, who won the South American Amateur Team Championship with Argentina last November, then fired three birdies in a row from the 14th to reach five-under par and better his opening-round 68 in last year’s Championship by one shot. “The leaderboard changes a lot,” he added. “Obviously it's a challenge for everyone. But I think if I keep doing what I did today, focus on my routine and my breathing, that's going to help me a lot to stay there and let the noise around me just be quiet.”

As the 2023 Champion, Fernandez de Oliveira earns exemptions into The Open and US Open and an invitation into the Masters Tournament.

Strong start

De la Fuente, who came agonisingly close to forcing a playoff with 2022 champion Aaron Jarvis after a missed birdie chance on the 72nd hole of last year’s Championship, started his title charge in strong fashion from the 10th with three birdies in his first nine holes. He picked up two further shots on the 10th and 13th holes of his round on the way to an opening 67. “For pretty much the whole year me and my team were thinking about this tournament and we were counting the days to come back and play again for the prize,” said de la Fuente. “We're just very happy after the first round and how things went today. I think the good strategy that we had as a team with me and my caddie, and a couple of lucky breaks kept the round going. I’m pretty happy to play without any mistakes on the scoreboard, bogey free. I think that's the goal we were looking for.”

Carrera in form

They were joined on the same mark by Carrera, who recovered from dropping two shots in the first three holes to make four birdies before the turn and then picked up shots on holes 11, 14 and 18. Cancino made six birdies along with one dropped shot as he made a notable start to the Championship. “It was a good round to be honest. Obviously not the start that you want, but I finished well,” said Carrera. “I just stayed patient, even though I had a bad start and that was the best part of it. “[On birdie streak] I got to hole No. 6 and was playing better; I was more in rhythm and I hit a good shot and made the putt for birdie and all of the sudden some of the putts started going in. I just want to enjoy it to be honest. To enjoy my game.”

Happy Cancino

“I'm super happy with my round and playing really solid,” said Cancino. “I had an afternoon tee time today, so it was very windy for, I would say, holes No. 3 until No. 12, it was really windy. I was able to play really well those holes. I'm very happy with how I played.” The reigning champion Jarvis made a steady start to his title defence with an even-par 72. “It wasn't easy today,” said Jarvis. “I got off to a rough start. I was 2-over through five and the wind started to get up. I wasn't hitting it great all day but then I managed to just stay patient, made a few birdies and managed to come in at even, which I think to start off this tournament. I'll take it.”

2024 venue

Earlier today, the organisers of the LAAC announced that the ninth edition will be contested at Santa María Golf Club in Panamá City, Panamá from January 18-21, 2024. The LAAC will return to Panamá for the second time in the event’s history and make its debut at Santa María Golf Club. They also announced the addition of an exemption into the US Open for the LAAC champion beginning in 2023 at The Los Angeles Country Club. This adds to the existing exemption into The Open and the invitation into the Masters Tournament for the LAAC champion. For more information on the Latin America Amateur Championship, please visit LAACgolf.com

All News