By: Zach Evans
Photo via Lynn Athletic Communications
Freshman sensation Tomas “Toto” Gana is not your typical 20-year-old college student. The protege from Chile played in his first Masters April 6 and 7 thanks to winning the Latin America Amateur Championship back in January.
Playing in the tournament has been a lifelong dream of Gana’s as he was ready to represent Boca Raton and Lynn University with the support of his teammates and coach, Andrew Danna.
“[Augusta] is the best place in the world, [The Masters] is the best tournament, also playing with the best people in the world was great,” Gana said.
Among some of those people was Gana’s favorite golfer, Rory McElroy.
“Seeing Rory McElroy and playing with him was amazing and he gave me a lot of advice,” Gana said
Born April 17, 1997 in Santiago, Chile, Gana grew up playing golf from a very young age. He is the son of Alejandro and Claudia and has two siblings, Simon and Lucas. He is an international business major and loves to play ping pong in his spare time.
None of his achievements or accolades would quite measure up to the one he made this past January. Gana was 285th in the world going into the tournament. Winning the Latin America Amateur Championship was by far the greatest feat of his young career.
On the final hole, it seemed like Gana was going to secure the victory, but he missed a 15-foot putt resulting in a three-man playoff.
After that, Gana hit a line drive for 97 yards. The ball landed three feet away and was calmly put in on a birdie putt for the win, securing him a spot in the Masters.
In the Masters, Gana had a score of 81 in the first round, making it to the second round and scoring an 80. Unfortunately he missed the cut for the final two rounds and ended his Masters debut with a score of 161.
Although Toto Gana finished last he accomplished his goal of making it to the Masters. Being 93rd overall might not have been what Gana had in mind, but the experience he had will hopefully motivate him to want to get back to the Masters and be more able to compete for a better placing in the tournament.
“I’m very proud of Toto, I think he did a great job, it’s the Masters he was just a couple shots off the cut line,” Danna said. “Just the fact he played in the Masters is a great experience for a 20-year-old young man.”
“I did not play that well, many players told me that it was a difficult course and not to worry about it,” Gana said. “The experience is what was important, not the result.”