Mateo Fuenmayor revalidated his credentials and joined the list of candidates for the Latin America Amateur Championship title after the second day. The best Colombian in the tournament was one of the few who managed to go under par on a course, that of the Santa María Golf Club in Panama City, which has been responsible for generating nightmares for a good part of the 108 participants.
The third day of the tournament, which will deliver a new champion on Sunday, will be seen this Saturday on ESPN2, Star+ and laacgolf.com, starting at 11 in the morning, Colombia time.
Although he was already the leader of the LAAC a year ago, on the first day, Fuenmayor is a little-known player even in the country he represents. He was born in Portland (Oregon). His father arrived in the United States in 1988, on a scholarship as a tennis player, and stayed forever in that country, where he today works as a medical translator.
His father's sporting heritage led Mateo to try different disciplines. AND Today he has basketball as one of his distractions. But golf was the one that took all his attention, to the point that he took him to Oregon State University, where he is about to finish his business degree.
On the first day he finished with a stroke over par, after finishing with a bogey on hole 9, the last of his round. This Friday he felt much more comfortable: four birdies, on holes 4, 6, 11 and 15, and a double bogey on 7, left him with a score of 68 (-2), the best of the year so far. tournament, to accumulate 139 (-1) and finish in second place, an impact behind the Mexican Omar Morales, leader of the tournament.
“I felt very comfortable from tee to green, the course was complicated and there was a lot of wind, there are many lakes, many outs. I took like 14, 15 greens. I made 68 thanks to the confidence with which I am hitting the ball,” said Fuenmayor, 24 years old. “I know that a great day is coming, but I also know that the tournament is not won on a Saturday,” he added.
Also in the top 10 of the tournament, but a little further away from the leader Morales, is also Colombian Carlos Ardila: He is eighth, five strokes behind, thanks to the fact that he finished with par on the court this Friday.
José Orlando Ascencio. TIME
The highest cut in LAAC history
The vast majority of participants had to sweat, and a lot, to try to stay in the tournament, in a field that was implacable with everyone: only four players (Fuenmayor, Morales, the Brazilian Andrey Xavier and the Peruvian Eduardo Galdos) dropped from the par this Friday and only the first two in the table are in the red after two days.
The cut is the highest in the history of the tournament: 14 over par. That allowed three other Colombians to reach the weekend: Carlos Hernández (+10, with cards of 77 and 73), Daniel Faccini (who had played in the morning and lit candles to see if he could save himself with +12, with rounds 80 and 72) and former professional Carlos Rodríguez, also with +12.
The wind and heat will most likely be the protagonists again this Saturday, with 55 survivors of a couple of very hard days. And there is still half a tournament left to see who gets the spots for three Majors, the Masters, the US Open and the British Open, as well as spots for the US Amateur and The Amateur Championship.
Jose Orlando Ascencio
Sports Deputy Editor
@josasc
City of Panama
*Invited by the LAAC
#Mateo #Fuenmayor #excited #winning #LAAC #shot #leader
