He Latin America Amateur Championship It is not only attractive for the players who access it. Receiving the tournament also gives additional prestige. The tournament gives the winner the chance to play three of the four Majors: the Masters, the US Open and the British Open.
The LAAC was created in 2014 and its inaugural edition was played at the Pilar Golf in Buenos Aires (Argentina) at the beginning of 2015. It is co-organized by the Masters Tournament, The R&A and the USGA and meets all the characteristics of a top-notch tournament. level.
In its history, the LAAC has passed through six countries: Argentina (2015), Dominican Republic (2016, 2019 and 2022), Panama (2017 and 2014), Chile (2018), Mexico (2020) and Puerto Rico (2023). Peru was chosen to receive the 2021 edition, but it was canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Colombia, although it has organized tournaments in several of the most important circuits in the world, has not yet had the option of hosting the LAAC. It should be remembered that the country has one stop on the Korn Ferry Tour and another on the PGA Tour Latin America. It also received, at the time, the Challenge Tour of Europe and the defunct Tour of the Americas.
Recently, Colombia hosted two important tournaments: in November, the Campestre de Cali club hosted the Andes Cup (South American for seniors), with the exception that this tournament rotates through the ten countries in the south of the continent, and, one week Before the LAAC, the South American Amateur was played at the Country Club of Bogotá, with victories for the Colombian María José Marín and the Ecuadorian Felipe Garcés.
Camilo Sánchez, president of the Colombian Golf Federation, confirmed to EL TIEMPO that Colombia has made the request to host both the LAAC and the Women's Amateur Latin America (WALA), the female equivalent of this tournament. But for now, the country is still on the waiting list.
What is missing for Colombia to host the LAAC?
Mark Lawrie, regional director for The R&A in Latin America and the Caribbean, referred to the possibility that Colombia could host the LAAC in the future, at a press conference this Friday.
“Colombia, like other countries in the region, have more than enough merit in terms of the number of fields and players,” Lawrie said. “The situations have to do with issues of time, region, logistics. No one is ruled out, but as we as an organization sharpen our aim in all aspects, we are going to define the range of venues,” he added.
For now, the tournament will return in 2025 to where it all began, the Pilar Golf in Buenos Aires. And the day the first day is played, the 2026 venue will be known. Another race has already started.
Jose Orlando Ascencio
Sports Deputy Editor
@josasc
City of Panama
*Invited by the LAAC
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