Women's Amateur Latin America Championship: Players to Watch

The Women's Amateur Latin America championship (WALA) has become a leading women's golf amateur competition in the region.

This week (21-24 November) the Lima Golf Club in Peru will host the championship, where the top amateur golfers from South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean will compete for the prestigious title and the opportunity to play in three majors in 2025.

The championship will test the competitors' abilities in a challenging course and conditions that will test every aspect of the game. The event is an important one for Latin American golf, as it promotes and showcases female talent.

Ela Anacona – Argentina | Best result in WALA: 2023 Champion

After winning the WALA in 2023 on home soil at Pilar Golf, the 24-year-old has played in three majors this year and made the cut in the AIG Women's Open at no less than the Old Course in St Andrews. In recent weeks, she has won the Rosario Jockey Club Open and finished runner-up in the Argentine Women’s Open. Throughout her career she has shone in international tournaments, representing Argentina and the University of Arkansas (where she graduated) in important competitions and obtaining outstanding results in different events.

Luisamariana Mesones – Peru | Best result in WALA: 5th in 2023

The 20-year-old player will be the local hope. Not only will she have the support of playing in her own country, but she will also have the advantage of knowing Lima Golf Club. She has won numerous titles there, including the National Amateur Championship and a Lima Ladies Series event in 2024. Luisamariana studies and plays at the University of Minnesota, in the USA, where she is in her second year and her best result this season is a tied-ninth finish in the Boilermaker Classic.

Alexa Saldaña Kohnstamm – Mexico | Best result in WALA: 19th in 2023

The 20-year-old is a junior at the University of Houston in the USA. At the collegiate level, she has demonstrated remarkable proficiency this season, securing a sixth-place finish in the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational and a seventh-place finish in the Illini Invitational at Medinah. Additionally, she achieved a significant victory in the Mexican Women’s Amateur in January. Days before heading to Peru, she represented her country in the prestigious Spirit International in Texas.

Michelle Melandri – Chile | Best result in WALA: 16th in 2023

She is one of the most solid golfers in her country and has a wealth of experience at regional level. The 23-year-old has starred in several national championships and has had many victories throughout her career. This year, she emerged victorious in two tournaments in Chile and secured the runner-up position in three others. She represented her country in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in 2022 in France and in 2023 in Abu Dhabi.

Valentina Zuleta – Colombia | First WALA start

The Colombian has had a solid start to her season for Utah Valley University in the USA with two top-15 performances in recent weeks. Prior to transferring to Utah Valley, she won the Red River Athletic Conference Championship and finished runner-up in the RMC Collegiate for Montana’s Rocky Mountain College in early 2024. She also has a great track record in national tournaments in her country, where she emerged victorious in a WAGR® event in December 2023.

Giovanna Fernandez – Paraguay | Best result in WALA: 12th in 2021

The 21-year-old has the unique distinction of having competed in not only all three editions of the Women’s Amateur Latin America, but also each of the four editions of the Annika Invitational Latin America in 2016-2019. This year, she has shown a high level of play in South American tournaments and international events with two WAGR® victories in Paraguay and a tied-eighth finish in the Brazilian Women’s Amateur. She is in her fourth season at the University of Arkansas.

Other players to consider

Malena Castro – Argentina | Best result in WALA: 27th in 2023

The 18-year-old is one of the most promising young Argentinean golfers. She has excelled in the local amateur circuit and has represented her country in junior and regional tournaments, showcasing her exceptional talent. Highlights of 2024 include successfully defending her Argentine Women’s Open title and finishing tied-third in the South American Girls’ Junior Championship in Uruguay. Her future prospects lie in the USA, where she will pursue her studies and golf career at Baylor University.

Luana Valero Moyano – Colombia | Best result in WALA: 23th in 2023

She is one of the most promising young golfers in Colombia, with an exciting future ahead. Her achievements in national and regional competitions have earned her significant recognition in Colombia. This year, the 17-year-old has secured WAGR® victories in Chile, Colombia and Ecuador and top-ten finishes in the South American Girls’ Junior in Uruguay, World Junior Girls Championship in Canada and South American Women’s Amateur in Colombia. Her career will continue at Purdue University in the USA.

Elzbieta Aldana – Guatemala | First WALA start

The 17-year-old has demonstrated remarkable proficiency in tournament play at the national and regional levels, establishing herself as a highly promising talent in Guatemalan golf. Her 2024 has included victories in the Central American Women’s Stableford Championship in Honduras and the 54 Hole LPGA Junior Open in the USA and top-five finishes in WAGR® events in Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala.

Ariana Urrea – Peru | Best Result in WALA: 27th in 2023

She has had an outstanding year in Peruvian amateur golf, with notable success in national tournaments that position her as a promising talent in women's golf in Peru. The 17-year-old will have the advantage of playing at home and knowing Lima Golf Club very well, where she has won several times. In 2024, she achieved notable success, securing first place in the Quito Junior Open in Ecuador and third place in the Yacht & Golf Club Junior Invitational Tournament in Paraguay.

On the international stage, she has also achieved notable success, including a fourth-place finish in the 54-hole Fort Myers Junior Open and a sixth-place finish in the Girls 15-18 division of the IMG Academy Junior World Championship in the USA. It is also noteworthy that in 2021, at the age of 13, she participated in a special event of the LPGA Tour, the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, where she competed alongside professionals in a Stableford format.

Clarisa Temelo – Mexico | Best result in WALA: 6th in 2023

At 143rd on the WAGR®, she is the highest-ranked player in the field entering this year’s championship. She has competed in each of the first three editions of the Women’s Amateur Latin America, improving her finish each year from tied-30th in 2021 to tied-15th in 2022 to sixth in 2023. The 18-year-old first-year student at the University of Arkansas has started her collegiate career with three top-seven finishes, including tied-sixth in the Jackson T. Stephens Cup last month.

The winner of the Women's Amateur Latin America championship, presented by The R&A and the ANNIKA Foundation, will earn invitations to three major championships in 2025: The Chevron Championship (The Club at Carlton Woods, USA), The Amundi Evian Championship (Evian Resort Golf Club, France), and the AIG Women’s Open (Royal Porthcawl, Wales). In addition, they will receive an exemption into The Women’s Amateur Championship (Nairn, Scotland).

The fourth edition of the WALA will see a group of talented golfers representing the best of women's golf in the region compete at the Lima Golf Club, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in style.