A decade later, Pilar Golf Club will again host the best amateur golfers in the region at the 2025 Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) just outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina. From January 16-19, the echo of on-course accomplishments and difficulties during the inaugural 2015 LAAC will be matched with new birdies and bogeys.
“Pilar Golf allows you to attack during the first few holes, and that’s where you can go chasing birdies,” recalled Matias Dominguez, the first champion of the Latin America Amateur, who claimed his victory in 2015 by one stroke with a total 11-under-par 277.
In fact, two unbroken LAAC records were accomplished in 2015 on the front nine of Pilar Golf Club.
Argentine Joaquin Bonjour, who had nine birdies in his second round, shot the lowest front nine in a single round (31), a record matched but not broken in later editions by Panamanian Miguel Ordoñez (2017), Brazilian Lucas Park (2020) and Mexican Omar Morales (2024).
Also at Pilar Golf Club, Chilean Mito Pereira established the record (11 under) for most strokes under par on the front nine across all four rounds of a LAAC. Pereira, Argentine runner-up Alejandro Tosti and Domiguez were the only three players in the 2015 field who broke par all four days of competition.
“But then comes the transition with difficult holes, like No. 9, a crucial hole,” said Dominguez while describing the rest of the course. “It becomes more tactical on the back and the course starts to penalize you,” added the 2015 champion about the site of the recent 2024 Copa Andes, won by the Argentine team.
“At this point, it’s almost impossible to know exactly how many rounds I’ve played at Pilar Golf. I practiced and played there all the time from 2013 to 2019, just before I went to college,” said Argentine Vicente Marzilio, part of the winning Copa Andes squad, runner-up in the 2022 LAAC and third in the 2023 edition.
“I have been practicing at Pilar Golf Club since 2014, so I would say I have played roughly more than 100 rounds there,” said Argentine rookie Exequiel Rodriguez Barri about the home course advantage.
However, that advantage was not a factor in 2015, when Chilean Dominguez prevailed and only two Argentines, Tosti (runner-up) and Bonjour (seventh), finished among the top 10. The fact that Pilar Golf Club will play almost 50 yards longer with no drivable par fours and taller rough will also contribute to leveling the chances.
“It is a course with all kinds of features. The par-3 17th hole is quite dramatic and makes you think a lot under pressure,” said veteran Costa Rican Alvaro Ortiz, one of three players in the field, along with Jarryd Dillas of Bermuda and Panamanian Miguel Ordoñez, who have played in each year of the Latin America Amateur.
And then comes the closing hole. “The tee shot on No. 18 during the last round in 2015, to a fairway less than 15-20 yards wide surrounded by water, was probably one of the hardest and most important shots of my life,” concluded Dominguez, anticipating what the leader should expect on Sunday at the 2025 Latin America Amateur.
