PANAMA CITY — Omar Morales of Mexico shot his second straight 1-under 69 on Friday to take a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Latin America Amateur Championship.
Morales, a junior at UCLA, was one of two players under par through 36 holes at windy Santa Maria Golf Club. Mateo Fuenmayor of Colombia shot 68, the best round of the day. The Oregon State senior was at 1-under 139.
Mexico’s Santiago De la Fuente (71) and Brazil’s Andre Xavier (69) were another shot behind.
The winner of the Latin America Amateur earns a spot in the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open. Morales hit the opening tee shot in last year’s U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club and is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 72 in the world amateur ranking.
Eight countries and territories were represented among the top 10, and players from 16 countries made the 36-hole cut.
Morales and Fuenmayor both played bogey-free on the back nine. Fuenmayor made a double bogey on the par-4 sixth to fall back to even for the day, but played his final 12 holes in 2 under.
