Casa de Campo Resort & Villas to Host 2019 Latin America Amateur Championship By Brian Weis

Casa de Campo Resort & Villas to Host 2019 Latin America Amateur Championship

By Brian Weis

Casa de Campo Resort & Villas - home to the Caribbean's premier, luxury golf experiences - will host the prestigious Latin America Amateur Championship for the second time in four years on its celebrated Teeth of the Dog course, Jan. 17 - 20.

Contested over 72 holes of stroke play with a cut for the leading 50 players plus ties after 36 holes, the champion receives an invitation to compete in the Masters Tournament, an exemption into the Amateur Championship (conducted by The R&A), and an exemption into the U.S. Amateur Championship and any other USGA amateur championship for which he is eligible.

Both the champion and runner(s)-up will also earn exemptions into The Open Qualifying (Final Qualifying), with an opportunity to earn a place in The 148th Open at Royal Portrush, plus berths in sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open with an opportunity to earn a place in the 119th U.S. Open Championship.

Last January, Joaquin Niemann of Chile, then ranked the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, completed a blazing stretch of seven holes in seven under par midway through the final round to seize the fourth Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) at Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago, Chile. Niemann went on to earn his PGA TOUR card after just eight starts as a professional.

Since opening in 1974, Teeth of the Dog is widely recognized as the No. 1 course in the Caribbean. The dramatic seaside layout showcases Pete Dye's design hallmarks: railroad ties, vast waste areas, peninsula greens and tees, hand-sculpted putting surfaces and a unique assortment of pot bunkers. Oceanfront holes are astoundingly beautiful, causing Dye to famously quip: "I created 11 holes and God created seven."

"We're honored to showcase the best amateur players in Latin America on our Pete Dye masterpiece, Teeth of the Dog," says Andres Pichardo Rosenberg, President of Casa de Campo. "In addition to world-class golf, we offer outstanding accommodations and a vast array of superlative amenities and activities few resorts can match."

The players will also have full use of the new Casa de Campo Golf Learning Center. Residing on 21 acres of "pure grass," the PGA Tour-quality facility is highlighted by Trackman and BODITRAK technology. It features two indoor hitting bays for rapid game improvement, year-round training, individual and group golf lessons and schools, expert club-fitting and repair, and multiple practice greens for honing putting, chipping and pitching games as well as a pristine double-sided outdoor range for full shots.

In 2002, 27-hole Dye Fore joined Teeth of the Dog as Casa de Campo's second course. Its three nines - Chavon, Marina and Lakes - are distinct. Chavon features seven holes running atop cliffs dropping 300 feet, Marina meanders down to a harbor ringed by restaurants and shops, and Lakes is artfully crafted across tumultuous terrain.

Located in the interior of the property is the resort's third Dye layout, The Links. The moderately hilly track with tall Bahia grass framing bunkers and undulating greens presents spectacular Caribbean views. Slightly over 7,000 yards from the back tees and playing to a slope of 126, it is considered one of the most-forgiving courses Dye has designed.

Revised: 02/26/2019 - Article Viewed 11,285 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.