Justin Hastings wins 2025 Latin America Amateur, earns spot in Masters, U.S. Open

In a race against darkness, Justin Hastings had a tap-in putt separating him from the biggest victory of his career.

The senior at San Diego State survived a marathon Saturday to win the 2025 Latin America Amateur Championship at Pilar Golf Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Hastings was brilliant on the 36-hole day Saturday, shooting 8-under 64 during the third round in the morning before an even-par 72 in the final round, signing for a 16-under 272 mark to hold off Peru’s Patrick Sparks by a shot.

Hastings finished fourth at the LAAC in 2024, and he becomes the second winner from the Cayman Islands, joining Aaron Jarvis (2022).

With bad weather forecasted for Sunday, tournament organizers made the decision to have the 56 players who made the cut play the third and final rounds on Saturday. Spotlights were used to help Hastings finish on the 18th green, but the low light didn’t prevent him from locking up spots in three of golf’s biggest events in 2025.

Hastings, ranked 52nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, earned a tee time at Augusta National Golf Club in April at the 2025 Masters with the victory. He’ll also tee it up at the U.S. Open at Oakmont and the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. The major exemptions are in addition to spots in the U.S. Amateur and Amateur Championship fields.

In the fall, Hastings recorded a pair of top-10 finishes at San Diego State, where his career scoring average of 71.48 is the lowest in recorded program history (since at least 1993-94), just ahead of two-time major champion Xander Schauffele’s mark of 71.50 set from 2013-15.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Justin Hastings wins 2025 Latin America Amateur, earns Masters invite