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.”
