Omar Morales (-2) is the only participant in the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) who has managed to defeat the Santa María Golf Club in Panama in the first two rounds of this illustrious event for amateurs, which offers places to compete in the Masters, the US Open and the Open.
The Mexican replicated his debut result (-1) after scoring four birdies and three bogeys in a not-so-easy event, as the warm and windy conditions on the Central American course made it a torment to tackle the Panamanian route, but Morales, who made the first tee shot at the US Open in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club, climbed to the top of the leaderboard in the afternoon.
The UCLA player, who is living up to the predictions in the Panamanian capital by being the highest ranked in the world amateur ranking of all present (72nd), exchanged three bogeys with two birdies in the first nine holes and accelerated his round after the turn with two more hits on the 11th and 12th to finish with 69.
El líder, Omar Morales, único en el torneo en firmar dos rondas bajo par.
Leader Omar Morales, the only player in the field with two rounds under par.#LAAC2024 pic.twitter.com/pMVS9hlc4S
— Latin America Amateur Championship (@LAAC_Golf) January 19, 2024
“I think my tee shots were really good, and the lines I took on the approach shots and how committed I was on each and every shot were really good, and I’m proud of that,” said Morales, who has his brother on the bag this week.
One shot behind is Mateo Fuenmayor (-1), who started quickly with two birdies in his first six holes. The senior student at Oregon State didn’t let a double bogey on the seventh flag stop him and recovered shortly after with birdies on the 11th and 15th to achieve a round of 68.
“It wasn’t easy,” said the Colombian. “From the first hole there was wind and then it blew even more. But I’m hitting the ball very, very well and in these conditions it’s very important to be very solid and make sure the ball goes in line, I’ve done a very good job on that. I’ve missed a couple of putts but, at the same time, I’ve made the ones I had to make and I’ve sunk two long pure ones, so I’m very happy with my performance,” he said.
The Brazilian Andrey Xavier (PAR), in turn, reached three under par on the day after seven holes, but his momentum was halted with a bogey on the eighth. In his fifth appearance at the LAAC, he recovered with a birdie on the 10th, but fell back on the 16th and 17th for a 69 that put him at par in third place. Just like Santiago de la Fuente (PAR). The 22-year-old Mexican started his day on the 10th and birdies on the 12th and 14th took him to -3 on the board, but he stumbled with a bogey on the 18th before losing two more shots on the sixth and seventh.
Vicente Marzilio (+1), fifth, is already over par. The Argentine, runner-up in 2022 and third place last year, continues his excellent form in the Latin America Amateur after the par signed in the second round. Guatemalan José Arzú (+2), co-leader at the start, lost some momentum by adding three over par.
Given the tough conditions, the LAAC cut fell after the second day to +14 and 55 players advanced to the weekend, including the champion from two years ago, Aaron Jarvis, from the Cayman Islands, who just made the cut. His older brother, Andrew (+4), is eleventh just five shots off Morales’ lead.
