Justin Hastings got the biggest win of his life in the nick of time.

With inclement weather in the forecast Sunday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Latin America Amateur Championship finale was moved to a 36-hole marathon Saturday. And with darkness looming at Pilar Golf Club, Hastings tapped in for victory, earning a spot in this year’s Masters, U.S. Open and British Open with an even-par final round. 

The 21-year-old from the Cayman Islands finished one stroke ahead of Peru’s Patrick Sparks, who three-putted for bogey on the par-3 17th. 

Hastings becomes the Cayman Islands’s second champion of the Latin America Amateur, following Aaron Jarvis in 2022. 

“To have two champions from the Cayman Islands—we have 27 holes down there, limited, super competitive golf,” Hastings, ranked No. 52 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, said after the win. “So to see him do what he did a few years ago really inspired the whole island and inspired me and taught us that we can compete out here and we can do these great things.

“To be able to follow in his footsteps a few years later and get it done is super amazing.”

The victory also gives Hastings an exemption into the 2025 U.S. Amateur and British Amateur.

Hastings, who finished fourth at last year’s LAAC, is a senior at San Diego State. 

His collegiate career scoring average of 71.48 (108 rounds) is the best in program history since the school began recording in 1993-94. That currently puts Hastings ahead of Xander Schauffele’s 71.50 from 2013-15.

Now, by virtue of his LAAC win, Hastings will go head-to-head with Schauffele in his British Open title defense—along with the Masters and U.S. Open.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Justin Hastings Earns Spot in Three Majors With Latin America Amateur Win .