Paul Chaplet Captures Latin American Amateur
Latin American Amateur winner Paul Chaplet will play in the Masters
LA ROMANA, Dominican Republic -- Prior to this week, Paul Chaplet was relatively unknown, having received only four letters from colleges.
With a final-round 70 and a 1-shot victory, Chaplet will be known around the world come this April. He will become the first player from Costa Rica to compete in the Masters.
Chaplet entered the final round five shots back of leader Gaston Bertinotti. Bertinotti couldn't sleep last night so he went for walk at 2am. He would wake up at 8:30am to a text from his coach asking of his whereabouts.
Bertinotti hurried through his warmup and made his tee time, but struggled with a 40 on the front nine.
Meanwhile, Chaplet came out of the gates firing with a 33 on the front. Two clutch pars on the final two holes secured his one shot-victory over Jorge Garcia.
“I came into this tournament knowing I had a chance if I played my best golf, and this just proves to me that I can,” Chaplet told Golf Channel. “That’s really all that matters.”
We'll be all watching out for Chaplet in Augusta.
ABOUT THE
Latin America Amateur
Founded by the Masters Tournament, The R&A and
the USGA, the LAAC was established to further
develop amateur golf in South America, Central
America, Mexico and the Caribbean. The LAAC is a
72-hole stroke play event open to a field of 108
amateur players in Latin America, chosen by their
respective national federations according to their
World Amateur Golf Ranking. Past winners of the
championship, as well as last year’s top-five
finishers, are automatically entered into this year’s
championship.
The LAAC champion annually receives an invitation
to compete in the Masters at Augusta National Golf
Club, the U.S. Open and the British Open. The
champion is also awarded full exemptions into The
Amateur
Championship, the US Amateur Championship and
any other USGA amateur championship for which he
is eligible.
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