Andy Schonbaum and Andrews Martinez Benedetti fired excellent opening rounds of 66 to lead the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) at Lima Golf Club in Peru with a few players still out on the course.
Argentina’s Andy Schonbaum was one of the early starters from the 1st tee. He opened strongly with two birdies and, after dropping a shot on the 6th hole, he finished strongly with birdies at the par-3 13th, the 15th and 16th holes. He finished with four-under 66.
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.
Also on four-under is Venezuelan teenager Andres Martinez Benedetti. The 16-year-old made five birdies and one bogey in compiling his excellent 66.
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.
At time of writing, Carlos Trevino Derbez of Mexico was still to finish his final round. The Mexican was three-under-par through 15 holes.
Pre-tournament favourite Gabriel Palacios of Guatemala carded a two-under-par 68.
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).
