The Masters Tournament, R&A and USGA have created a Latin America Amateur Championship, to be played starting in 2015. The winner will get an invitation to the Masters, as well as the British and US Amateurs. The Champion and runner up also will receive exemptions into the final rounds of US Open and British Open qualifying.
As with the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, the goal is to expand golf’s global reach.
The inaugural tournament will be held Jan. 15-18 at Pilar Golf Club, located near Buenos Aires. The format will be 72 holes of stroke play with a field of 120 players made up of the region’s top male amateurs. The location of the 2016 tournament is not set, but some speculate it may be held at the Olympic venue in Brazil.
Events like this can only be a good thing for golf.
