The 11th instalment of the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) gets underway tomorrow at Lima Golf Club in Peru. The player that walks away as victor on Sunday afternoon will earn starts in the Masters Tournament, The Open Championship and the US Open.
It’s a huge week in amateur golf and the event has grown to be one of the most hotly anticipated on the calendar. Players from 29 countries in central and south America plus the Caribbean will compete over 72 holes of stroke play to decide the winner.
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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 in the Latin America region by creating champions and inspiring aspiring golfers.
The tournament is managed by (quite literally) the best in the business: crack teams from golf’s governing bodies co-ordinating the course set-up, the refereeing, the weather forecasting, the scoring, the media centre – it’s an impressive event.
The Prizes
The prizes on offer could be life-changing
(Image credit: LAAC)
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 2026 Masters Tournament and exemptions into The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and 126th US Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills.
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 placed finishers will be exempt for The Amateur Championship.
The Players
Gabriel Palacios of Guatemala
(Image credit: LAAC)
There is always a strong field featuring a mix of youth and experience. This year there are 30 players within the 108 starters who are under the age of 20. But there are 12 players who are over the age of 40.
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The youngest competitor will be 13-year-old Luka Peterman of Costa Rica, while the oldest will also be Costa Rican: 54-year-old Guillermo Rothe.
Guatemala’s Gabriel Palacios is the top-ranked player in the field. Currently 24th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR,) the 20-year-old finished tied for third in last year’s LAAC at Pilar Golf Club in Buenos Aires.
“The level of attention is going to be different this time, but my focus is going to be on ignoring the ranking and concentrate on what I can accomplish,” said the junior at the University of Utah.
Andrey Xavier of Brazil will be making his seventh appearance in the LAAC and he has five top-20 finishes in the event. In 2025 he won the Brazilian Amateur by 10 strokes. He’s currently 35th on WAGR.
Other players in the field ranked in the top-100 on WAGR include Jose Luis Montano and Flavio Sameja of Bolivia, Brazil’s Herik Machado, Guatemala’s Sebastian Barnoya and Segundo Oliva Pinto of Argentina.
The Course
(Image credit: LAAC)
Lima Golf Club was established in 1924 and since then it has been steadily surrounded by growing urbanisation. It is now looked over by impressive, towering buildings.
The venue has hosted the Copa Los Andes, the Pan American Games and the Women’s Amateur Latin America Championship. Lima Golf Club is one of the oldest courses in Peru and underwent a redesign by the golf course architecture firm, Mackenzie & Ebert, in 2018.
At 6,804 yards, it’s not the longest track but with a par of 70, small greens that will firm up through the week and punishing rough, it will pose a stern test for the competitors. Strategy and course management will be to the fore.
“The shots to the green can be confusing, you need to know where to land your ball, and you need to know where to miss when you are out of position,” said Perurvian player Patrick Sparks, who was LAAC runner-up in 2025.
The Alumni
Joaquin Niemann is a.former winner
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Joaquin Niemann of Chile who won the LAAC in 2018 on home soil in Santiago, is perhaps the best-known graduate.
Others to have played in the event include Nico Echavarria, Sebastian Munoz, Mito Pereira, Alejandro Tosti and Alvaro Ortiz.
Watching the event
Championship coverage will include three hours of live coverage during each competitive round (2-5 p.m. local, 7-10 p.m GMT on Thursday/Friday and 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. local, 4-7pm GMT on Saturday/Sunday).
International broadcasters include ESPN Platforms (Latin America and United States), Fox Sports (Australia), Sky Sports (United Kingdom), SPOTV (Pan-Asia), SuperSport (Africa) and TSN (Canada).
The Weather
The forecast is set fair for the week with little wind to trouble to players. It should be steady around the 28 degree centigrade mark with broken skies. Perfect scoring conditions.
Last year
Justin Hastings of the Cayman Islands
(Image credit: LAAC)
Justin Hastings of the Cayman Islands fired a closing round of level par 72 to win the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) at Pilar Golf Club by a single shot from Peru’s Patrick Sparks.
Hastings shot a third round 64 to take a four-shot lead into the final round but the nerves started to show through the final 18.
He managed to keep his nose in front though and post a four-round total of 16-under-par.
Hastings played in The Masters, The Open Championship at Royal Portrush and the the US Open at Oakmont Country Club where he was low amateur.
Hastings has since turned professional.
A Prediction For Champion
Segundo Oliva Pinto of Argentina
(Image credit: LAAC)
Segundo Oliva Pinto – This will be the Argentinian’s sixth appearance in the LAAC and he has never finished outside the top-15. He was tied for third last time out.
The 26-year-old has the experience to get over the line and he comes into the event with good form. He won three WAGR events in 2025 and one of them was the prestigious Argentine stroke play championship.