34-year-old Andy Schonbaum of Argentina fired a second round of 68 to take a two-shot lead in the Latin America Amateur Championship at Lima Golf Club in Peru.
Schonbaum is one of the more experienced players in the field. Aged 34, he is making his 10th LAAC appearance. His best finish prior to this event was a tie for 11th back in 2020.
“Yeah, I definitely was in control,” said Schonbaum. “I've been striking it very well. And of course, this tournament, you never know what's going to happen because you know you'll be more nervous than regular rounds but just big lines, good targets, big swing.”
Schonbaum started the day tied for the lead with 16-year-old Venezuelan Andres Martinez Benedett. His front nine, starting from the 10th was something of a rollercoaster – four birdies but two bogeys in the first seven holes.
But he steadied the ship and came home with 11 straight pars to post a total of 134 for 36 holes – six-under.
Andres Martinez-Benedetti of Venezuela is just two shots back of Schonbaum. He shot a level-par 70 to keep himself right in the hunt.
The 16-year-old birdied the 18th to stay in touch.
Martinez Benedetti won both the Venezuelan National Junior and National Match Play Championships and finished eighth in the Junior Pan American Games and T-10 in the South American Junior Championship in Paraguay last season.
Paraguay’s Erich Fortlage had the round of the day. He shot a superb 66 to reach three-under at the halfway mark.
After a level par front nine, starting at the 10th, Fortlage birdied five of six holes from the first to the sixth. The 19-year-old won the Lima Golf Club Junior International Tournament in 2023 so clearly enjoys this tight and testing golf course.
The pressure will build through the week as the competitors in contention begin to consider the prizes on offer in Lima this week. Those prizes could be life changing for the victor.
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.
Founded by The R&A, The Masters and The USGA, the LAAC was inaugurated with a view to developing the game of golf in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
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.
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).
