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A double bogey on the 18 gives options to De la Fuente and Fuenmayor in Panama

Omar Morales, undisputed leader, leaves a crack open in the LAAC

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Omar Morales
Omar Morales atrapa la bola en la tercera ronda del LAAC.

Only one player out of the 55 who made it past the halfway point of the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) has played under par in the three rounds that have been contested so far at the Santa María Golf Club in Panama. His name is Omar Morales. In fact, only the Mexican made less than 70 strokes in the first two rounds.

The Mexican (-7) navigated the adversities of the wind on the first two days and shaved a stroke off each round on the course to maintain the lead he already grabbed at the start. The UCLA player, the highest ranked in the world amateur ranking of the 163 participants in this ninth edition of the LAAC, took advantage of the more pleasant Saturday in the Panamanian capital to show off his stripes and almost seal the tournament.

We say almost because after carrying a seven-under par in the first two thirds of the course, with birdies at 1, 2, 4, 8 and 10, and an eagle on the short par 4 of the 11th. He was playing brilliantly, he was on a military stroll around the course, everything was going smoothly, the driver, the irons, the putter… Then he held firm with six consecutive pars, but he sent the ball into the water on the 18th and that cost him a double bogey that does not tarnish his sensational card (he was about to smash the course record: 64), although it does open a crack for his two main opponents to challenge him in the final round.

His compatriot Santiago de la Fuente (-4) also played excellent golf and finished the day with 66 strokes, four less, to finish three strokes behind the young man from Puebla. The University of Houston golfer made no mistakes in the third round and did score four birdies to try to put Morales in trouble tomorrow. One of them could become the second Mexican to win this title after Álvaro Ortiz achieved it in 2019.

Likewise, Mateo Fuenmayor (-3) has chances after pocketing a 68 on the Panamanian layout. The Colombian started with a bogey, added two birdies and another mistake in the first nine, but on the 10th and 12th he signed two more successes that place him in the third step of the podium and with 18 holes ahead. They are the only ones under par in the LAAC. Justin Hastings (+1), from the Cayman Islands, and Andrey Xavier (+1), from Brazil, are tied for fourth place.

The prizes on offer in Panama this week could change the life of the winner. The champion receives an invitation to compete in the Augusta National and will automatically qualify for the 152nd Open at Royal Troon and, for the second time, will win a place in the US Open, whose 124th edition will take place at Pinehurst No. 2. He also receives exemptions for the 129th Amateur Championship, the US Amateur and any other amateur championship of the USGA for which he is eligible. Omar Morales has everything going for him, but this is golf…