Santiago De la Fuente's journey to Mexico Open spurred by ARA support

Santiago De la Fuente was about 3 years old when he first picked up a golf club. He learned the game from his father, Gerardo, a man he happily describes as the “greatest 35 handicap you’re ever going to see” and who was his only teacher until his mid-teens.

“I don’t know how he did it, to be honest,” Santiago says. “He said that he read a book about Tiger and that’s kind of how he understood what to do. But I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Santiago grew up playing a semi-private club in his hometown of Ocotlán, Mexico, that was near a factory that manufactured the acetate tow used in cigarette filters. Water from the plant helped irrigate the short, tight fairways where the premium was on hitting the driver with precision.

“I’m not going to lie,” he says. “It was the worst golf course I’ve ever played in my life. But it was challenging.”

Spurred on by the daily competition with his older brother, Diego, who had an “unreal” short game, Santiago started playing in tournaments when he was 9 years old. He didn’t have a coach, though, or even a full set of clubs until he was in high school, and Paco Saracho saw something in his game.

Now Santiago, who learned English by watching reruns of “Friends” so he could play college golf in the United States, is the reigning winner at the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC). The University of Houston senior is playing this week in the Mexico Open at Vidanta for the second time, and the All-American has exemptions into the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship thanks to his LAAC victory.

Mexican businessmen Ricardo and Benjamin Salinas want to make sure more players like Santiago can realize their dreams. They partnered with the PGA TOUR in 2017 to help grow the game in Latin America and last year launched Alto Rendimiento Azteca (ARA), a player development program for elite golfers.

On a more grassroots level, the Salinas men also support the First Tee, which is growing the game as it uses the tenets of golf for learning opportunities for young people. Mexico has 11 chapters, two of which are in Vallarta where the Mexico Open at Vidanta is being played, and several local kids came to a clinic at the course on Tuesday.

Santiago is one of the first nine Latinos (seven men and two women) signed by ARA. They’ll have access to tutors, trainers and golf instructors like Andres Echavarria, whose brother Nico plays the PGA TOUR. In addition to the support staff, ARA members will also be given apparel and access to tournaments.

Santiago calls joining ARA a “no-brainer.”

“It means a lot just having a big team supporting you,” he explains. “It's everything. I mean, having a trainer, having a nutritionist, having a psychologist, coaches, people you can trust, it just frees your body to play.

“It's going to help grow the game starting in Latin America, not just for Mexicans. It's for the entire Latin America.”

When Santiago was young, he wanted to emulate Rory McIlroy’s ball-striking ability, Jordan Spieth’s short game and Woods’ determination. Now, the 22-year-old is the oldest player on the ARA team and taking his role as the elder statesman seriously.

“I want to be as helpful as I can and hopefully kids can look up and look at me like I'm a reference for them,” Santiago says. “… That's the best part of it – enjoying watching these guys get better and better and better because when they're 17, 18 years old, they just get better really quick.

“And being able to tell them what things and what experiences I had and how I learned my lesson so they can avoid it, it's my next thing. I don't even know how to explain it. Just being able to help some other people.

“It’s a great project, man. I'm just grateful to be part of it.”

Santiago is also thankful for the support of his family, as well as Saracho, who has yet to charge him for a lesson. Ditto for the board of directors at Atlas Country Club, located about 45 minutes from Ocotlan, who let him play for free after his home club was about to be shuttered.

“They want to help you out starting from the locker room all the way to the waiters,” he says. “They are super helpful and it's a little over the top, to be honest. They just want to be there for you.”

Seeing friends head to the United States to play golf collegiately was pivotal for Santiago. “I was like, wow, you can go to college for free and then play tournaments for free and just do what you like to do the most,” he recalls. He calls learning English by watching subtitles on YouTube and reruns of TV shows a “little crazy story.

“But it tells you that if you want to do it, you are going to find a way to do it,” Santiago says.

After two years at Arkansas Tech, where he played on an NCAA Division II national title team, Santiago earned a scholarship to Houston. Last season, he earned honorable mention All-America honors, a first for the Cougars since 2016, and posted the team’s low scoring average of 70.71 with 26 rounds of par or better, 13 of which were in the 60s. He’s ranked 38th in the latest PGA TOUR University Ranking.

The Latin America Amateur Championship unlocked a ton of perks for Santiago, including invites to three of the game’s four major championships. And this week, in the state where he grew up with friends and family in his gallery, he’ll play in the Mexico Open for the second time.

Santiago knows it will be “stressful” but he calls the opportunity “pure gold.” Regardless of what happens, it’s another step in the process.

“I’ll try to enjoy it as much as I can,” he says.