BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Colombia’s Manuel Merizalde had five birdies in eight holes on Thursday for a 6-under 66 that gave him a three-way lead after the first round of the Latin American Amateur Championship.
Patrick Sparks of Peru and Gabriel Palacios of Guatemala also shot 66 on a strong day at Pilar Golf Club. The winner receives an invitation to the Masters tournament and is exempt from participating in this year’s US Open and The Open tournaments.
Merizalde stands out for its age alone. He’s 45 years old and about two decades removed from playing alongside Camilo Villegas in the World Cup and playing for Brigham Young. He’s also a long way from playing golf as regularly as he used to.
“I wasn’t expecting much, to tell you the truth. I’m already 45 years old. I don’t have much time to train,” Merizalde said. “But sometimes it helps when you don’t have too many expectations, when you just go out to have some fun. The less you try, the better you do.”
He works for a security company in Colombia and goes golfing on Friday afternoons. Sometimes he is lucky enough to be able to play or practice twice a week.
But it worked in Pilar. His only major error was a bogey on the par-5 10th.
Palacios made four straight birdies on the back nine, giving the 19-year-old Utah sophomore a 31 back. Sparks had seven birdies and an eagle to atone for several dropped shots.
COMMENTS:
Augusta National, the R&A and the USGA have announced that Lima Golf Club in Peru will host next year’s Latin American Amateur Championship. It was scheduled to take place in Peru in 2021 until canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. … Augusta National President Fred Ridley said the golf course doesn’t have “as many trees” as it did last year because of Hurricane Helene, but is otherwise in spectacular condition.
