Why The Latin America Amateur Championship Is The Perfect Golf Tournament

It’s been a tumultuous few years for men’s professional golf. Division rather than development has been the main talking point in pro press conferences on all the main tours since LIV Golf came onto the scene. Whatever your views on the breakaway circuit and on the response from the established tours, there can be no argument that the schism has been damaging to our sport.

It is then, refreshing and encouraging to consider the unity and positivity surrounding the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC). Now in its 10^th year and back to Pilar Golf Club in Buenos Aires this week, the venue for the inaugural LAAC in 2015, the tournament represents everything that should be, and clearly still can be good about elite level golf.

Co-founded and co-run by The Masters Tournament, The R&A and the USGA, there is one singular purpose behind the LAAC – to grow the game of golf by creating champions and inspiring aspiring golfers.

This is a small but perfectly formed golf tournament, supported by independent bodies for whom profit is not an objective. Their objective is to use their experience and the opportunities they can offer to drive golf forwards. The winner of this event will play in The Masters, the US Open and The Open Championship.

That in summary, is what makes the LAAC so great. But there are more specific reasons why it’s the perfect golf tournament.

The Organisation

It’s hardly surprising that this tournament runs like a well-oiled machine. When The Masters, The R&A and the USGA put their heads together to consider how best to use their collective experiences to put on an event, the results are really rather impressive. And now, with nine previous LAACs in the bank, the championship is planned and run so smoothly that nobody would break sweat, were it not for the near 40 degree temperatures here in Buenos Aires this week.

The players are looked after superbly well. They are given a glimpse of the world they are striving towards as top-level golfers. But it’s not just them who are treated like VIPs. The media, the sponsors, the parents of players, all are considered, and all requirements are met, if not exceeded. As a member of the media and having been to plenty of events where the media are not considered so generously, I can tell you – this tournament is something special.

The Opportunities

Over dinner last night, the conversation turned to TGL and one of the problems the new high-tech event has to overcome – The fact that there doesn’t really seem to be a huge amount to play for. For a tournament to be truly great, the prizes and the opportunities must be great. Are you going to be “Champion golfer for the year?” Are you going to don a green jacket, win a trophy for your continent, a gold medal for your country?

Well, the opportunities available in the LAAC mean that the excitement levels are sky high from the word go and they ramp up through the week as the possibility of huge rewards looms larger. The winner of the LAAC receives an invitation to compete in the Masters Tournament and exemptions into The Open Championship and US Open Championship. They also receive exemptions into The Amateur Championship and the US Amateur Championship. The runner-up or runners up will be exempt into the final stages of qualifying for The Open Championship and US Open Championship. The second and third place players will be exempt into The Amateur Championship.

With those sorts of opportunities on offer, there is a buzz around this tournament. The players have seen former champions, from Chile’s Matias Dominguez in the first event in 2015 and onwards teeing it up at Augusta and they are battling to replicate those achievements. The expectation and excitement is palpable from the very first tee shot.

The Players

And those players are seriously good. The standard of golf in this tournament has steadily risen over the last 10 years and the field now comprises 108 players representing 28 countries. Most are youngsters setting out on their golfing journeys but there are more experienced campaigners too.

The youngest in the field this week is 15-year-old Santiago Villegas of Ecuador but the oldest is 56-year-old Alvaro Ortiz of Costa Rica.

No fewer than 62 players in the field are past, current or future students of US Colleges and this event has become a popular one for talent scouts from the US collegiate system.

The entrants in this event play with flair and ambition. They are exciting to watch. The tournament has produced stars with Joaquin Niemann perhaps the most famous alumni. He won the event in Chile back in 2018. Other players who have been competitors in the LAAC include PGA champions Nico Echavarria and Sebastian Munoz. These guys are good and the event gives spectators a brilliant chance to see some potential future stars of the game in action.

The Venues

And one of the best things about the LAAC is the fact the courses it's played on tend to be pretty quiet giving spectators a chance to get up close to the protagonists and follow them through the rounds.

The tournament is always held on excellent courses, like this one at Pilar which was the venue for a thrilling tournament in 2015 when local favourite Alejandro Tosti – now a successful player on the PGA Tour – came up just short, losing out to Chile’s Matias Dominguez.

The event has been held in Argentina, Chile, Panama, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Beautiful locations to visit and to watch golf. If you were looking for a holiday to combine a trip to an amazing, warm-weather destination with a bit of golf spectating, there’s nothing to beat it.

The Camaraderie

One of the very best things about the LAAC is the great comradeship between the players, the coaches, the officials and the media. Everybody involved is delighted to be a part of the event and there is a general feeling of togetherness that stands out through the week.

There are rivalries between players and countries, of course, but generally, the atmosphere is one of friendship and fun. We are all here to grow the game of golf and to do something positive for the sport. In this time of confrontation and uncertainty in elite men’s golf, that is uplifting and a very pleasant change.

The LAAC delivers exceptional golf in beautiful settings. There’s pressure and excitement, competition and camaraderie for all the right reasons. Everyone involved this week will have a great and memorable time whether they’re participating, spectating or officiating. These are the reasons why the Latin America Amateur Championship is the perfect golf tournament.