Most of the 26 delegations arrived in Santiago de Chile and immediately made contact with the Prince of Wales Country Club field, where from Saturday 20 and until Tuesday 23 will be playing the IV South American Amateur Golf Championship.
Among this group is the Venezuelan team composed of Jorge 'Pichu' Garcia Catanese, Manuel Torres, Gustavo Morantes, Alex Restrepo, Konrad Brauckmeyer, Stefan Holczer, Ezequiel Prieto and Ernesto Martinez.
This LAAC tournament will reward the winner with a seat to the 2018 Masters, as well as the The Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen, the US Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links, and any other USGA championship for which he may be eligible. In addition, the winner and the runner-up will have an exemption to play the final stage of the classification of The 147th Open, in Carnoustie and the sectional classification of the US Open Championship 2018, in Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
With these rewards it is logical that the LAAC is one of the most anticipated tournaments by golf prospects.
Apart from the Venezuelans, the Chilean team is a favorite, thanks to their knowledge of the field and the talent of players such as Joaquín Niemann, leader of the amateur world rankings, Matías Dominguez and Tomás Gana, these last winners of the tournament in 2015 and 2017.
Also Argentina, with Alejandro Tosti and Andrés Gallegos; as well as Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, are strong candidates for the title in this IV LAAC.