Matias Dominguez, of Chile, birdied the final three holes of Round 3 to assume a one-stroke lead entering the final round of the inaugural Latin America Amateur Championship at 7,255-yard, par-72 Pilar Golf.
Dominguez, 22, a senior at Texas Tech University, offset a double bogey on the par-5 13th hole with six birdies on the inward nine to complete a round of 3-under-par 69 for a 10-under-par total of 206. He leads Alejandro Tosti, 18, of Argentina, who was sparked by an eagle 3 on the par-5 13th hole en route to a round of 4-under-par 68 and a three-round total of 9-under 207.
Dominguez is four shots clear of Juan Sebastian Munoz (71-210), of Colombia, and Joaquin Bonjour (73-201), of Argentina, and five strokes ahead of Andre Tourinho, the second-round leader, who suffered a triple-bogey 7 on the 15th hole in a round of 75 for a 211 total.
The winner on Sunday will earn an exemption into the 2015 Masters Tournament, the Amateur Championship (conducted by The R&A) and the U.S. Amateur Championship (conducted by the United States Golf Association), as well as spots in final qualifying for The Open 2015 and the 2015 U.S. Open.
“I got off to a slow start,” said Dominguez. “It took a while to adapt to the greens. But on the back nine, I started gaining a lot of confidence and telling myself that I could make every possible putt.”
Dominguez is seeking to become just the second player from Chile to play in the Masters, joining Enrique Orellana, who missed the cut in 1964.
“It’s been a while since I’ve led a tournament,” said Dominguez, who is No. 421 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™ (WAGR). “I’m used to coming from the back. I will just try to stay in the present and go shot-by-shot.”
Dominguez is one of three players from Texas Tech in the field, including Guillermo Pereira, also of Chile, who is the top-rated player here, at No. 6 in the WAGR. Pereira shot even-par 72 on Saturday for a 3-under-par total of 213, tied for 10th place.
Tosti, 18, who will enroll at the University of Florida later this month, thought his round of 68 could have been even better.
“Today, I missed three short putts,” said Tosti, who trains at the Argentine Golf Association’s performance center, located at Pilar Golf. “But I know I’m playing really well, and it’s a really good position. With all my experience playing here, I think I have an advantage.”
Gaston Bertinotti, 19, of the host country, had the day’s low round of 6-under 66. The sophomore at Campbell University in North Carolina held a share of the first-round lead at 68, but struggled to a 6-over 78 in Round 2. He is tied for sixth place at 4-under 212 with countryman Santiago Bauni (72), Alvaro Ortiz (71), of Mexico and Juan Alvarez (74), of Uruguay. A player from Uruguay has never competed in the Masters.
Second-round leader Tourinho shared the lead with Tosti at 10 under when he got to the 15th hole, a 416-yard par 4. He hooked his drive into the water, and found the water again after a penalty drop. He followed up the triple bogey by narrowly missing a pair of birdie putts, then bogeyed the final hole.
“I was not hitting the ball well, but still managing to stay competitive,” said Tourinho, 24, a graduate of the University of Tulsa who is a member of the Brazilian National Team. “It’s a shame that I made the triple bogey, but I still believe there’s a chance tomorrow.”
Ron Driscoll is the manager of editorial services for the USGA. Email him at rdriscoll@usga.org.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Scores from the third round of the inaugural Latin America Amateur Championship at the 7,255-yard, par-72 Pilar Golf course:
Matias Dominguez, CHI - 72-65-69--206
Alejandro Tosti, ARG - 69-70-68--207
Joaquin Bonjour, ARG - 69-68-73--210
Juan Sebastian Muñoz, COL - 69-70-71--210
Andre Tourinho, BRA - 70-66-75--211
Juan Alvarez, URU - 68-70-74--212
Alvaro Ortiz, MEX - 68-73-71--212
Santiago Bauni, ARG - 72-68-72--212
Gaston Bertinotti, ARG - 68-78-66--212
Jose Luis Montaño, BOL - 71-73-69--213
Jose Mendez, CRC - 73-68-72--213
Guillermo Pereira, CHI - 71-70-72--213
Santiago Gomez, COL - 69-75-70--214
Matias Simaski, ARG - 73-71-71--215
Luis Gerardo Garza, MEX - 72-73-70--215
Jorge Garcia, VEN - 71-75-70--216
Santiago Mejia, COL - 76-73-67--216
Erick Juan Morales, PUR - 77-72-68--217
Nicolas Echavarria, COL - 72-71-74--217
Alvaro E. Ortiz, CRC - 71-72-75--218
Dorian Delmas, PAR - 71-73-75--219
Esteban Restrepo, COL - 73-74-72--219
Jesus Dario Montenegro, ARG - 71-78-70--219
Robi Calvesbert, PUR - 72-73-74--219
Roberto Ruiz, MEX - 77-72-71--220
Rodrigo Rivas Muñoz, CHI - 71-74-75--220
Edward Figueroa, PUR - 72-74-74--220
Ian Facey, JAM - 68-77-75--220
Lucas Rosso, CHI - 69-72-79--220
Joaquín Niemann, CHI - 75-72-73--220
Juan Miguel Heredia, ECU - 73-75-73--221
Daniel Gurtner, GUA - 78-73-70--221
Ivan Camilo Ramirez, COL - 78-68-75--221
José Narro, MEX - 69-78-75--222
Aaron Terrazas, MEX - 73-71-78--222
Jaime Lopez Rivarola, ARG - 69-77-76--222
George Trujillo, VEN - 75-73-74--222
George Scanlon, BOL - 72-77-74--223
Herik Machado, BRA - 76-74-73--223
Jarryd Dillas, BER - 74-78-71--223
Jose Andres Miranda, ECU - 75-75-73--223
Sebastian Barnoya, GUA - 72-79-72--223
Pedro Junqueira, BRA - 72-75-76--223
José Pablo Rolz, GUA - 73-73-77--223
José O. Rodriguez, PUR - 73-77-74--224
Talin Rajendranath, TTO - 74-74-76--224
Paul Chaplet, CRC - 72-71-81—224
Juan Ignacio Garmendia, ARG - 71-73-81--225
Daniel Kenji Ishii, BRA - 72-74-79--225
Sergio Roman, ECU - 76-75-74--225
Andres Gallegos, ARG - 75-72-79--226
Alejandro Perazzo, VEN - 76-73-77--226
Devaughn Robinson, BAH - 75-75-76--226
Patrick Sanchez, MEX - 79-71-76--226
Gustavo Silva, CHI - 77-74-76--227
Tomaz Pimenta Pinheiro, BRA - 77-73-78--228
Jeronimo Esteve, PUR - 71-75-82--228
Matthew Marquez, TTO - 74-74-80--228
Wolfgang Pedal, PER - 77-75-77--229
Marcelo Wilde, BOL - 72-78-79--229
Jonathan Newnham, JAM - 73-77-79--229
Juan Jose Guerra, DOM - 75-77-80--232