Crisologo claws his way to title defense at South American Am
Chris Crisologo
SANTIAGO, Chile (Jan. 13, 2019) – Early week, Chris Crisologo had bounced around near the top of the leaderboard in his title-defending run at the South American Amateur. He never actually reached the top, however, until the end of the final round. Crisologo, a Canadian, did exactly what he had to do in pulling off a close title defense at Los Leones Golf Club.
Crisologo’s final-round 69, while not the lowest score on the board on Sunday, carried him six spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for first with third-round leader Luis Gagne. Both players finished 72 holes at 7 under after Gagne stalled out in the final round with an even-par round.
Both players had birdied the final hole of regulation to remain tied. Ultimately, Gagne lost his advantage when he bogeyed the par-4 12th late in the day.
It took two additional holes to decide a champion. On the second hole, Gagne made a critical mistake when he hit his ball in a bunker, allowing Crisologo the advantage that would ultimately earn him the trophy…again.
"This is a different triumph, it's a very different field,” Crisologo said of winning the event for the second year in a row. “It was a privilege to be here and it was a very fun week at the end. You had to be precise from the tee, I played my golf at the end.”
Argentinian Leandro Correa and Englishman Thomas Plumb tied for third at 6 under. Correa’s final-round 66 went down as the low round of the day.
Toto Gana, the 2017 Latin America Amateur winner, was part of a three-man tie for fifth at 5 under. Gana is headed to the Dominican Republic next week to take another shot at the LAAC.
Information from South American Amateur site used in this report
ABOUT THE
South American Amateur
A 72-hole stroke play championship, the South
American Championship was started in 2006 and
is organized annually by the Executive Secretary
and the governing body of the country in which
the tournament is conducted. The schedule
provides that the seat should be rotated in all
South American countries.
View Complete Tournament Information