After disappointing opening rounds for the Irish quartet contesting the 2026 South American Amateur Open at Argentina’s Nordelta Golf Club in Buenos Aires, the response has been impressive and Katie Poots, Kate Dillon and Fionn Dobbin are each in with outside chances of pushing their way into the top 10 during Sunday’s final round.
Poots, having opened with an eight-over 80 in the tough conditions on day one, has come back with rounds of 72 and 73 to move into a share of 14th place, while Dillon is two shots further adrift after producing her lowest round of the week with a 72 on Saturday.
Dobbin opened with a 77 and followed that with a 75 on Friday, but he was one of just nine players in the men’s field to shoot a round in 60s on Saturday and his three-under-par 69 lifted him into a share of 20th place, five shots off the top 10.
Joshua Hill began the day as the leading Irishman but he struggled on Saturday and fell to T38.
Ecuadorian Felipe Garcés is looking to go wire-to-wire as he hunts his second South American Amateur Open title. The 2024 champion began the day with a five-stroke lead but a two-over-par 74 – his highest round of the week – saw that reduced to two.
His closest pursuer is now Tom Bastow from Wales, who was one of the nine to shoot a round in the 60s and sits at four-under.
In the women’s division, Emily Odwin from Barbados is also looking to go wre-to-wire and holds a two-stroke advantage after closing the third round at -6. In Sunday’s final round, she will have the chance to give her country its first victory in the tournament’s history, but is being chased down by Peruvian Luisamariana Mesones who is two adrift and Mexico’s Regina Jimenez who is one shot further back.
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