Ortiz Closes Third Round Strong At Latin Amateur

Buenos Aires, Argentina – Behind three birdies over his final six holes, Arkansas men’s golf freshman Alvaro Ortiz climbed back into contention heading into Sunday’s final round of the inaugural Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) at Pilar Golf Club with a one-under 71 to position himself in a tie for sixth place.

Ortiz will begin Sunday’s final round, which will be live on ESPN2 or ESPNEWS from 10 a.m. – noon CT, six strokes off the lead. The winner will play in the 2015 Masters, U.S. Amateur and the Amateur Championship. Likewise, the champion and runner-up(s) will be exempt to play the final qualifying of the 2015 Open and U.S. Open.

A day removed from appearing at No. 10 on SporsCenter’s Top 10 Plays thanks to a hole-in-one on the par 3 8th hole, junior Nicolas Echavarria carded a 74 to sit inside the top 20 in a tie for 18th place and is one-over (72-71-74) for the tournament.

Ortiz opened the event with a four-under 68 and finished the first day tied for the lead before shooting a 73 in the second round. Representing his home country of Mexico, Ortiz is five-under on the course’s back nine this week, carding seven of his 12 birdies with just two bogeys.

Echavarria will be the first to start play on Sunday, going off the first tee at 5:59 a.m. CT while Ortiz will take the course at 6:43 a.m.

The LAAC is developed by the three most important organizations in the golfing world: The Masters Tournament, the R&A and the United States Golf Association. The goal with which it was created was to promote the growth of and to inspire future youngsters to play the game in the region. This event will provide a unique opportunity since the winner will play the 2015 Masters, U.S. Amateur and the Amateur Championship. Likewise, the champion and runner-up(s) will be exempt to play the final qualifying of the 2015 Open and U.S. Open.

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