When the Latin America Amateur Championship was first played in 2015, something bigger than a golf tournament was born: a story began that would redefine the place of Latin American golf on the world stage. Today, 11 editions later, the Latin America Amateur remains a significant gateway for players from the region to reach elite-level golf and to measure themselves amongst their peers.
In mid-January, the Latin America Amateur will write a new chapter at a venue steeped in tradition: Lima Golf Club in Peru. On this course—which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025—the best amateurs from 29 countries will look to follow a path that has proven decisive in shaping many of the continent’s top talents.
The most recent edition, held at Pilar Golf outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina, marked a milestone as the Championship turned a decade old by returning to the venue where it all began in 2015. The latest champion, Justin Hastings of the Cayman Islands, became the second player from his country to win the title, once again highlighting the diversity of talent found across every corner of Latin America, one of the defining characteristics of the Championship.
Founded by the Masters Tournament, The R&A and the USGA, the Latin America Amateur was created to further develop amateur golf in South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. Each year, the champion earns an invitation to that year’s Masters Tournament and exemptions to The Open and the U.S. Open.
But the true impact of the Latin America Amateur is not measured solely in major invitations or rankings; it is measured in stories—stories of young players who found here the momentum they needed to elevate their game at the highest levels of golf and in their home nations.
Future stars like Joaquin Niemann, Nicolas Echavarria, Sebastián Muñoz and Mito Pereira, among others, took steps in their journey toward professional through participation in the Latin America Amateur.
Over its 11 years, the Latin America Amateur has visited some of the most iconic courses in Latin America—Teeth of the Dog (Dominican Republic), Club de Golf de Panamá and Santa Maria GC (Panama), Prince of Wales CC (Chile), El Camaleon at Mayakoba (Mexico), Grand Reserve GC (Puerto Rico), and Pilar Golf (Argentina)—and now arrives for the first time at Lima Golf Club, an iconic venue that has witnessed the growth of Peruvian golf for more than a century.
The par-70 Lima Golf Club layout, both demanding and strategic, will serve as an international stage for tradition, talent and ambition to come together. There, the region’s best amateurs will compete for far more than a title—they will compete for a place in the history of Latin American golf.
The Latin America Amateur continues with the mission it was founded on: to inspire, develop and propel the best amateur golfers in Latin America to the next level. Many consider it a “major” of amateur golf—an indication of the prestige the Championship has earned and the impact it has had on the development of the sport in the region. With 10 editions completed, the Championship remains a driver of dreams and a symbol of the future of golf in Latin America.
