KARUIZAWA, Japan – After carding five birdies over his final nine holes on Tuesday, Arkansas men’s golf junior Nicolas Echavarria picked up where he left off during his second round at the 29th World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) held at 72 East Club. Echavarria led Colombia for the second straight day with a three-under 69 and brought his birdie total to nine over his last 27 holes.
One of two Razorbacks playing in the event, Echavarria’s three-under 69 on the Iriyama Course was bogey-free over the last 15 holes as he moved into a tie for 38th place on the 200-player leaderboard. The only player under-par for Colombia, Echavarria opened with a one-under 71 in the first round on the Oshitate Course.
Also representing Arkansas and playing for Mexico, freshman Alvaro Ortiz put together his second straight under-par round with a two-under 69 on the Oshitate Course. Ortiz’s strong finish on the unique back nine of the Oshitate Course that is a par 38 and ends with a par 6, featured four birdies over his final six holes. Through two rounds, Ortiz is three-under and in a tie for 43rd place.
The WATC field includes 13 players in the top 25 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking and 14 players that earned GCAA All-American status at a Division I program in 2013-14. Tee times, live results and update information for each of the four rounds is available at www.igfgolf.org.
Individual Leaderboard
T38. Nicolas Echavarria (Colombia) – 70(-1)-69(-3)/139(-4)
T43. Alvaro Ortiz (Mexico) – 71(-2)-69 (-2)/140 (-3)
Team Standings
T11. Mexico – 138(-6)-136(-6)
30. Colombia – 141(-1)-141(-3)