LIMA, Peru (AP) — Mateo Pulcini made a pair of big par putts over the final hour and finished with a 3-foot par save on the second playoff hole to win the Latin America Amateur Championship on Sunday, earning the Argentine a spot in the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open.
Pulcini, at 25 the oldest winner of the Latin America Amateur since it began in 2015, closed with a 2-under 68 and outlasted Missouri senior Virgilio Paz, who was trying to become the first winner from Venezuela.
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“We dream to play and to win this,” Pulcini said. “I have no words right now. I’m so happy, and so grateful for the people around me.”
Paz, who also had a 68 at Lima Golf Club, pulled into a share of the lead with a 25-foot birdie putt on the difficult par-4 17th. Pulcini, who played his college golf at Oklahoma Christian and a final year at Arkansas, stayed tied for the lead by following with a 20-foot par putt.
On the 18th hole in regulation, Paz went over the green and ran his chip some 8 feet by the hole, making that to join Pulcini at 5-under 275 and force only the second playoff in tournament history.
And then the big Argentine got his biggest break on the first playoff hole. From a bad lie in the right rough, his shot was headed for the trees and somehow missed all the big branches, leaving him some 40 yards short of the pin. He pitched that to 18 feet and made the par putt to send the playoff to another hole.
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“It was a lot of nerves coming in,” Pulcini said. “As always, I tried to have fun, to laugh. Being in that position I was dreaming of at the beginning of the week, why not take advantage and enjoy?”
Paz was in the left rough on the 18th, partially blocked by trees, and caught a flyer that went right of the green and settled in a dirt swatch framing a tree. Stooped over to stay below the limbs, he chipped out to about 25 feet and missed the par putt.
“It was a fun fight, a long day,” Paz said. “I’m proud of myself what I did. I go back to school happy.”
Pulcini is the third Argentine winner. Chile also has produced three winners.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
