Maria Escauriza (South American Am photo)
SANTIAGO, Chile (Jan. 13, 2019) – There wasn’t much urgency for Maria Fernanda Escauriza in the final round of the South American Women’s Amateur, but she kept her foot on the gas anyway. After turning in a 4-under 68 in the final round at Club de Golf Los Leones, she completed an eight-shot victory to start the year. Escauriza was 12 under for 72 holes.
Escauriza, from Paraguay, was under par in every round of the event, and under 70 in all but one round. The victory shows marked improvement from 2018, when Escauriza finished 22nd in this event. Since then, Escauriza has mostly played in college events.
In four fall starts with San Diego State, Escauriza’s highlight came with a top-25 finish at the Stanford Intercollegiate. Escauriza was also part of the team that represented Paraguay at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship last fall.
"I was confident in my game every day,” Escauriza said of this week in Chile. “I started bad in the first nine but I knew that the second round I was going to play better.”
This makes the second year that a Paraguayan has won the event after Milagros Chavez won the 2018 title.
Compatriot Sofia Garcia finished second to Escauriza at 4 under. She rebounded nicely from an opening 77 with rounds of 70-68-69 to end the tournament.
Maria Jose Bohorquez, of Colombia, was the only other player to finish 72 holes under par. A final-round 69 left her at 1 under.
Argentina’s Valentina Rossi and Chile’s Antonia Matte were T-4 at even par.
Information from South American Amateur site used in this report
ABOUT THE
South American Women's 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