Echavarria’s Run At LAAC Falls Short
La ROMANA, Dominican Republic – Arkansas men’s golf senior Nicolas Echavarria entered the weekend as the 36-hole leader but his run towards a spot in the 2016 Masters Tournament came up just short with his 12th place finish at the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) held at Casa de Campo.
Echavarria took the lead entering the weekend after firing a seven-under 65 on Friday, which tied for the low round of the tournament. The seven-under 65 gave Echavarria a three-shot lead heading into Saturday after an even-par 72 in Thursday’s opening round.
The Colombia native entered Sunday’s final round that was aired on ESPN2 just three strokes back of the leader and fought to within one stroke of the lead at the turn after back-to-back birdies on No. 8 and No. 9. Despite back-to-back bogeys to open the back nine, Echavarria battled back again with a birdie on the par 5 14th hole to sit just two strokes back. Unfortunately, that was as close as Echavarria would come as his bid at the Masters Tournament fell short.
The winner earned a spot not only in this year’s Masters Tournament but also an exemption into The Amateur Championship and the U.S. Amateur Championships.
