Dominguez wins Latin America Amateur to earn berth in Masters

Matias Dominguez grew up dreaming of someday playing in the Masters Tournament. It’s not an uncommon dream among golfers, but the path for Dominguez wasn’t always easy.

The golfer from Chile battled nerves and a four-hour rain delay to win the Latin America Amateur Championship on Sunday to book his trip to Augusta and fulfill his dream of playing for a green jacket.

Dominguez shot 1-under-par 71 in the final round at Pilar Golf Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a one-shot win over Alejandro Tosti of Argentina.

Dominguez overcame self doubts to persevere, not to mention a change in culture when he was recruited to play college golf at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas.

“I always felt that one day hopefully I can get to the Masters,” he said. “We all grew up with the same dream. I can’t believe that dream just came true.”

The senior will be the first player from Chile to compete in the Masters since Enrique Orellana missed the cut in 1964.

“Everyone in Chile is going crazy,” said Dominguez, who added he still had several hundred texts to read. “It’s something for all of us that it was almost impossible, waiting the next few years for a player to get in. Hopefully I can represent them the best I can and hopefully do my best.”

Dominguez, 22, held a one-shot lead after 54 holes. But heavy rains forced a lengthy delay after he had completed only six holes.

“I tried to stay positive, stay calm as possible,” he said.

The strategy worked as he birdied the first two holes after the rain delay. He played the next seven holes in even par, but stumbled down the stretch with bogeys on two of his last three holes.

But Tosti couldn’t capitalize, and all Dominguez had to do was make a short bogey putt on the final hole to win.
He buried his face in his hands, and he was greeted by two of his Texas Tech teammates who were in the field and friends from Chile who rushed the green with a bottle of champagne.

“It was fun, real fun to experience that with them,” Dominguez said. “It was awesome to see them.”

The tournament was patterned after the highly successful Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, which was created in 2009 by the Masters and R&A to grow golf worldwide and get youths interested in the game.

For the Latin America Amateur, the Masters joined forces with the R&A again and added the USGA.

In addition to the trip to Augusta National in April, Dominguez also earned berths in the U.S. Amateur and British Amateur. He also is exempt into the final stage of qualifying for the U.S. Open and British Open.