Valery Plata of Colombia defeated countrywoman María José Marín Negrete in an epic two-player race, winning the inaugural Women’s Amateur Latin America on Sunday at Pilar Golf in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Plata (above), a Michigan State Spartan who came into the week ranked No. 60 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, started the final round of the 72-hole event down by two shots. That deficit expanded to four strokes by the time the pair reached the 12th tee, but the entire tournament would shift on the next two holes.
Plata went birdie-eagle. Marín Negrete went bogey-bogey. The five-stroke swing gave Plata a one-stroke lead she would give away with a bogey on the 15th hole, only to see Marín Negrete return the favor on No. 16.
Both players finished with two pars, and Plata earned the victory at 12-under. Plata and Marín Negrete were the only two on the course who finished the tournament in red figures, as Valentina Rossi (even-par 288) came in solo third.
Plata won the Indiana Invitational earlier this year and was a semifinalist at the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2020. This victory gets her an exemption into next year’s AIG Women’s Open and Amundi Evian Championship.
This was the first playing of the Women’s Amateur Latin America after last year’s tournament was canceled due to the pandemic.
Golf Canada has announced the group of 46 junior and amateur athletes selected as part of the Team Canada player development program for 2022. Professional players who will be part of Team Canada in 2022 will be determined and announced in January.
The announcement marks a significant roster increase, adding 17 additional male and female athletes to the previous year’s Team Canada amateur and junior squads. The larger program size will increase the number of top developing players who receive nationally supervised coaching and support and will grow the pool of future high-potential Canadian professional golfers.
The athlete roster expansion reflects a restructuring to accommodate the growing talent pool in Canadian golf and is financially supported by contributions from Golf Canada Foundation’s network of trustees, Golf Canada corporate partners and a slight reallocation of Golf Canada resources. Golf Canada will also expand its group of Team Canada coaches to effectively support the larger roster of athletes.
“This is an exciting period for Canadian golf, and we are intensifying the National Team Player Development Program,” said Kevin Blue, chief sport officer with Golf Canada. “We are in the process of additional analysis and strategic planning, and we look forward to further system enhancements in 2022 with the goal of helping more Canadian players reach the LPGA and PGA Tour.”
Team Canada’s 2022 National Amateur Squad consists of 21 athletes, including eight women and 13 men. The Junior Squad totals 25 athletes including 12 female and 13 male athletes from age of 14 to 18.
Staff and Wire Reports