Alec Yoder
6.1K posts

Alec Yoder
@AlecYoder
Believer, Olympian, @golfersjournal.

Political chaos. COVID. A driving range that didn't exist. After eight years and every obstacle imaginable, the Latin America Amateur Championship has finally arrived at Lima Golf Club. Lima Golf Club captain Álvaro Hernández first approached the R&A a decade ago with hopes of bringing the championship to the now century-old club that sits squarely among Lima's high-rises. The answer was no. The driving range—12 spots with a net 170 yards out—wasn’t close to what a championship of this magnitude required. With the course locked into just 20 city blocks, the club had to get creative. By converting a par 4 into a par 3, the new range expanded to 330 yards. The nomination came through. Then COVID hit. The tournament was postponed. Then political unrest swept through Peru. Organizers made the call to postpone it again, this time to 2026. And in the months before this year's championship, more turmoil left everyone uncertain if Lima would finally get its moment. But the governing bodies gave the green light. Now, players from 29 countries are in Lima, playing for life-changing exemptions into the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship. "I was just hoping hard I didn't have to make that third phone call," says Mark Lawrie of the R&A. "We made it in the end." Hear the full story on this week's TGJ Podcast: glfrsj.nl/TGJpod201




























