Three top golfers from the region will be participating in the 2026 Latin America Amateur Championship in Peru. Their role: caddies for their respective brothers and husband.
“My job is to give him confidence and support, and I can help a lot with reading the putts and figuring out the breaks,” said 36-year-old María Salinas, wife and caddie of one of the six Peruvians in the field, Rafael Claux. She is a long-time member of Lima Golf Club, the site of this year’s edition.
Salinas, who finished tied fifth at her first Women’s Latin America Amateur at Lima Golf Club in 2024, will be caddying for Claux for the first time. “We are going to talk about things outside golf, which I think will be important to relax during the competition,” said 40-year-old Claux, whose life on and off the golf course has run parallel to Salinas’ for more than two decades.
Both Salinas and Claux played college golf in the United States, turned professional for a short period, decided to retire, got married in 2016 and had two children, Mateo and María. “It has been around 10 years since I played a golf event of this magnitude,” said Claux. “The biggest motivation for me is that we are going to share the experience as a family.”
For Paraguayan Giovanna Fernández, who will be caddying for her youngest brother Franco Fernández, it is also very much a family affair. At 18 years of age, Franco Fernández will be playing in his third Latin America Amateur, along with their 20-year-old brother Benjamin.
“It will be the first time I caddie for him in a big event. I love caddying, not just because of my own experience as a player, but because I really like adapting to the player I am assisting,” said Giovanna Fernández, the only woman who has competed in every edition of the Women’s Amateur Latin America and its precursor, the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America.
She finished tied ninth in 2024 at Lima Golf Club and graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2025, where she played with three champions of the Women’s Amateur Latin America: Colombian María José Marín (2025), Mexican Clarisa Temelo (2024) and Argentine Ela Anacona (2023). Giovanna Fernández caddied for teammate and friend Anacona at the 2024 Evian Championship, the fourth major of the year in women’s professional golf.
At the Evian she was able to test her vocation for mental coaching. “I love the mental side of the game, so I enjoy watching the behavior and the reactions of the player. Franco’s strength is his competitiveness. He never gives up. We talk a lot about trusting his game and enjoying the present moment,” said Giovanna Fernández about their preparations.
“I think it is going to help me a lot to have my sister on the bag. She knows me very well, how to manage me, and she is helping me with the mental aspect,” said Franco Fernández, as he gets ready for his third start.
It will be the second Latin American Amateur where 25-year-old Brazilian Lauren Grinberg caddies for her younger brother Guilherme.
“In 2025 we came up with the idea of her carrying my bag in Argentina because she knows my game so well. I really liked the experience of her keeping me calm, on track, playing my game and just having fun,” said 22-year-old Guilherme Grinberg, who finished T-14 at Pilar Golf Club after carding a 65 in his third round.
“I feel my brother is the type of player who just needs reassurance, someone he trusts on his side. I know it is a big tournament, and I try to take some pressure off,” said Lauren Grinberg, who competed in the Women Latin America Amateur in 2025 (T-19) and 2024 (T-17) and has served as a Sergeant in the Brazilian Navy since 2023.
For the Grinbergs, it is also a matter of family, trust and shared dreams. “She has been my golf partner for almost 20 years. We started together and she knows every aspect of my game,” said Guilherme Grinberg.
“It has been special sharing these moments we have always dreamed about with my brother. I feel like we got more places to be and bigger tournaments to play. And if I can be by his side and he can be by my side, it’s going to be great,” added Lauren Grinberg.
