Mexico’s Luis Carrera carded his second consecutive 5-under-par 67 on Friday to lead the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) by one stroke over Argentina’s Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira after 36 holes at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Puerto Rico. The cutline fell at 3-over-par 147 with 54 players advancing to the weekend.
Mexico’s Luis Carrera carded his second consecutive 5-under-par 67 on Friday to lead the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) by one stroke over Argentina’s Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira after 36 holes at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Puerto Rico. The cutline fell at 3-over-par 147 with 54 players advancing to the weekend.
Carrera trailed by one stroke after the first round but tallied two birdies on his first nine at Nos. 12 and 14 to make the turn at 7 under for the Championship and tacked on three more at Nos. 1, 2 and 6 for a bogey-free card and a two-day mark of 10 under.
“It feels good, to be honest,” said the 23-year-old Carrera on his position atop the leaderboard. “I'm just enjoying it and I'm not looking a lot at it…The wind picked up a little bit more today than yesterday. I mean, I just had to play some balls with the wind, just trust it, and that was the main thing.”
Mexico’s Luis Carrera, Round Two Leader
Luis Carrera of Mexico - Round 2, No. 4
Luis Carrera of Mexico - Round 2, No. 2
Last year, Carrera competed in his first LAAC at Casa de Campo’s Teeth of the Dog course in the Dominican Republic and was inside the top 20 at the midway point of the Championship before struggling with rounds of 76-77 on the weekend. At the time, he spoke of being inspired to try to achieve a second Mexican victory in the event.
“I remember seeing Alvaro Ortiz when he won [in 2019],” said Carrera last year. “I wanted to cry. I couldn’t believe what he had done and now here I am and I hope to put myself in a similar situation.”
Last summer, Carrera earned the biggest win of his career at the Canadian Amateur while reuniting with a childhood friend, Rodrigo Peña, who is alongside him as his caddie this week.
“I met him [caddie Rodrigo Peña] when I was 11 years old, and then I didn't see him for a long time, and then I was playing the Canadian Amateur, and after the third round, he came up to me,” said Carrera, a senior at the University of Central Florida. “He was a pro at the golf course. We met again, and were like, oh, this is awesome. Nobody was caddying for me at that moment and he asked if I wanted a caddie for the final round. So he caddied for me and he gave me a lot of confidence. He kept me calm and we won the tournament. Going into this week, the Federation asked me if I wanted to bring a caddie and I was like, ‘Wow, sure, this guy.’”
Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, one of two top-50 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) in the field, sits one stroke back of Carrera at 9 under after rounds of 68-67 to begin the Championship. Fernandez de Oliveira, who turns 23 on Monday, was one of four players to finish runner-up to Aaron Jarvis in 2022, one stroke shy of forcing a playoff. On Friday he carded five birdies and an eagle at the par-5 sixth hole.
“Well, I'm feeling very well; these have been two great days for me,” said Fernandez de Oliveira, a senior at the University of Arkansas who currently ranks No. 34 in WAGR. “Going out in the leader group going into the weekend feels amazing. I'm just going to try to take advantage of where I am right now and hopefully get it done on Sunday.”
Round 2 Notable Players
Julian Perico of Peru hugs his caddie on the No.18 green - Round 2
Kelvin Hernández of Puerto Rico - Round 2
Peruvian Julian Perico, a teammate of Fernandez de Oliveira at the University of Arkansas, sits two strokes back of the lead and was inches away from history on Friday. After a 4-under front nine saw him climb into contention, Perico narrowly missed an albatross at the par-5 14th when his approach from 232 yards struck the flagstick and settled inside two feet.
Kelvin Hernández leads all Puerto Ricans in his home nation at 5 under. Jean-Philippe-Mehu (T-42) became the first Haitian player to make the cut in the Championship’s history, while defending champion Aaron Jarvis sits T-14 at the halfway point.
The champion of the LAAC will receive an invitation to the Masters Tournament in addition to exemptions into the U.S. Open and The Open in 2023.
For more information on the Latin America Amateur Championship, please visit LAACgolf.com.
