Dominguez Wins Latin America Amateur, Earns Trip to Masters


Chile's Matias Dominguez sank a short bogey putt on the 72nd hole to squeeze past Argentina's Alejandro Tosti by a stroke and win the first-ever Latin America Amateur Championship on Sunday.

Dominguez, a senior at Texas Tech, closed with a 1-under 71 to finish the 72-hole event in 11-under 277 at Pilar Golf Club in Buenos Aires. The 18-year-old Tosti also carded a 71 to end up at 278.

The final round was suspended for four hours by rain and wet conditions.

With the victory, Dominguez earns an exemption into the 2015 Masters Tournament in April, as well as berths in the British Amateur and U.S. Amateur. He also earned spots in final qualifying for the 2015 British Open 2015 and U.S. Open.

"It was going well until probably the 13th hole," said Dominguez said of his performance. "The crowd made it really hard for me to focus. It's almost impossible to keep calm in that position, but I tried to do my best. On that short putt [on No. 18], I couldn't even feel anything."

Crowd favorite Tosti, a freshman-to-be at Florida, played well from tee to green but had issues with his putter. "I never thought about the prize, because the tournament finishes on the 18th hole," said Tosti, who hit 16 greens in regulation. "My putter didn't work well today. I had 16 chances to make birdie and I only made three."

Mexico's Alvaro Ortiz carded the low round of the day, a 5-under 67, to rise into a share of third at 279 with Brazil's Andre Tourinho (68).

Dominguez will become only the second Chilean to play in the Masters, joining Enrique Orellana, who missed the cut in 1964.

"Right now I don't have any expectations," said Dominguez of his visit to Augusta National in April. Dominguez noted he'd like to play a practice round with one of his heroes, Phil Mickelson.

"It's my last semester at Texas Tech and I want to help my team and enjoy that time at Augusta with my family and friends."

For more information and scoring details, visit www.LAACgolf.com. The above report is courtesy of the USGA. For more information, visit www.usga.org.