Fortinet Cup: Drama unfolds at final Latin America Swing event in Colombia
6 Min Read
Brendon Doyle improved 69 positions in the standings, the second most significant of the last day of the Latin Swing. (Credit Gregory Villalobos)
BOGOTA, Colombia – What a crazy Sunday it was at the PGA TOUR Americas Latin America Swing-ending Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship. The Fortinet Cup standings were shaken as several players outside the top 60 charged inside to secure full exempt status for the upcoming North America Swing. In all, nine players who entered the week inside the top 60 were bumped out by the end of the tournament.
While the consistent Matthew Anderson of Canada and tournament winner Harry Hillier of New Zealand locked up the top two spots to earn conditional status for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season, several players scrambled to secure a card for the remainder of the season.
The nine who made it in...
Blake Tomlinson: Moved from 85th to 12th
The 25-year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah, made the most significant move of the week. Entering the tournament as No. 85 in the standings, he played superb weekend golf, recording four rounds in the 60s for a huge runner-up finish. The 300 Fortinet Cup points he earned Sunday allowed him to gain 73 spots and finish the Latin Swing ranked 12th.
Eddy Lai: Moved from 63rd to 28th
Only three spots outside the top 60 at the start of the week and making his third start of the Latin Swing as a Monday qualifier, this 25-year-old from San Jose, Calif., played solid enough to finish solo fifth at El Rincón. The 110 Fortinet Cup points he collected vaulted him into the 28th spot in the standings for a 35-spot improvement. A proud Swifty, he was so happy with his performance that he closed out his Latin Swing exit interview singing Taylor Swift’s “Enchanted.”
Alex Weiss: Moved from 88th to 37th
Having recorded only two rounds in the 60s and a tie for 28th at the season-opening event as his only top-40 finish in his first five starts, Weiss managed to put together four rounds in the 60s at El Rincón. He was at even-par for the day through nine Sunday but closed out with a clinching 5-under 31 on the back nine for a final-round of 67. His scores added for a tie for sixth that saw him advance 51 spots in the standings.
Agustín Errázuriz: Moved from T70th to 45th
Carding a 1-over 73 to finish solo 12th at the Monday qualifier, he wouldn’t have made it into the field if the regular six Monday qualifier spots had not been extended to 13 to fill out the field. Tied for 70th in the standings after his lone start at the Diners Club Peru Open, an event he finished in a tie for 13th as a Monday qualifier, this 24-year-old from Santiago, Chile, played solid golf at El Rincón. He entered the final round tie for fifth and finished solo 13th to secure the 45th spot in the Latin Swing final standings.
Franco Romero: Moved from 65th to 49th
A steady performer throughout a season in which he didn’t miss a single cut, this 29-year-old from Rosario, Argentina, left his best for last. Entering the week as No. 65 in the standings, he posted a 10-under total for a tie for 16th that placed him comfortably inside the top 60. Set to travel to Canada for the first time, he will enter the North America Swing ranked 49th in the Fortinet Cup standings.
Rafael Echenique: Moved from T70th to 52nd
Ranked 114th with only two events to play in the Latin Swing, things looked tough for this 43-year-old veteran from San Luis, Argentina. However, the highlands of Quito and Bogota worked out nicely for him. He followed a tie for 17th at the Kia Open, which placed him T70 in the standings, with a tie for 16th at the Inter Rapidísimo Championship that locked up the 52nd spot.
Rafael Becker: Moved from 72nd to 56th
At 5-under for the day through 15 holes Sunday, the Sao Paulo, Brazil native was comfortably inside the top 60 in a week he entered as 72nd. However, back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17 saw him drop to 64th by the time he made it into scoring. “It was the most stressful day of the year. (After those two bogeys) my heart almost stopped”, he said in a celebratory Instagram story later in the day. The stress caught up with other players late in the round and he ended up moving into the 56th spot to secure a tenure up North.
Martín Contini: Moved from T66 to 59th
A Korn Ferry Tour member in 2022, this 29-year-old from Tucuman, Argentina, had been without status in any PGA TOUR-sanctioned Tour for the past 18 months. Playing PGA TOUR Americas via the Monday qualifiers, a top-10 finish in Quito moved him into a tie for 66th in the standings to earn him a spot at the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship. At 2-under for the day through 15 holes Sunday, he seemed on his way to a stress-free entrance into the top 60. However, a double-bogey on 16 and a bogey on 18 made him slip to 61st. While trying to figure out what conditional status would mean for him, a couple of players dropped shots and allowed him to move back inside the top 60 for good.
Brendon Doyle: Moved from 129th to 60th
Improving 69 positions in the standings, his move inside the top 60 was the second most significant of the last day of the Latin Swing. Entering the final round solo fourth at 14-under to be projected 39th in the standings, he flirted with disaster late in the round. At 1-under for the day through 15 holes, he double-bogeyed 16th, birdied 17th, and bogeyed 18th for a stressful closing stretch that left him wondering if he would make it through. He claimed the 60th spot by a margin of only 0.56 points over Reid Davenport, who fell from 51st to 61st after a costly missed cut.
Two heartbreaking finishes…
James Swash: Solo second through 54 holes, this Englishman with no points entering his second start of the season, was projected to make it into a tie for 12th. A final round of 3-over 75 that featured six bogeys on the first 11 holes saw him slip down into a tie for eighth. The 75 points earned were only good enough for a 69th-place finish in the standings.
Skyler Finnell: Tied for fifth after an impressive third-round 64, this Carmel, Calif., native was playing solid Sunday. At 14-under for the tournament with seven holes to play, he was projected to move from 109th to thirtyish in the standings. His first bogey of the day on 12 was followed by a bogey, double bogey finish that saw him drop to 75th in the standings.
The nine who fell outside the top 60…
Reid Davenport: Dropped from 51st to 61st
David Pastore: Dropped from 55th to 62nd
Patrick Flavin: Dropped from 53rd to 63rd *Played the Monday-Q, but didn’t make it
Toni Hakula: Dropped from 54th to 66th
Alexandre Rocha: Dropped from 56th to 68th
Charlie Hillier: Dropped from 57th to 70th *Did not play
Jimmy Jones: Dropped from 60th to 71st
Matthew Walker: Dropped from 58th to 72nd
Tommy Cocha: Dropped from 59th to 74th
By finishing 61st-80th in the Latin Swing, Swash, Finnell and the players who fell outside the top 60 will have conditional status for the North America Swing.