Enrique Orellana

Enrique Orellana (born c. 1936) is a retired Chilean professional golfer. Orellana had the distinction of being the only Chilean golfer in history to participate in the Masters Tournament (1964) until Matías Domínguez played in the tournament in 2015.[1][2][3] Toto Gana (2017) and Joaquín Niemann (2018) also qualified for the Masters, by winning the Latin America Amateur Championship in their respective years.[4][5] Martín Ureta, Hugo León, and Guillermo Pereira, who played in the U.S. Open in 2007, 2010, and 2019, respectively, are other Chileans who have played in a major golf championship.[6][7][8][9][10]

Enrique Orellana

Orellana grew up son of the greenskeeper of Los Leones Golf Club in Santiago, Chile.[7] His invitation to the Masters was a matter of talent combined with being in the right place at the right time. In addition to playing golf professionally, Orellana instructed golf classes at the club. One of his pupils was Argentine politician Guillermo Kelly. Kelly had played Augusta National Golf Club a week before the Masters in 1963. In November 1963, Kelly played Los Leones and was one player short of a foursome. He invited Orellana to complete the group. After nine holes of play, when Orellana was four shots under par, Kelly told Orellana, "I'm going to get you an invitation to the Masters." Kelly was friends with the president of Augusta National, Bobby Jones. In March 1964, Orellana received an envelope with an Augusta postmark containing the invitation.[11]

After finishing runner-up in the 1964 Masters Par 3 contest,[7] Orellana missed the cut at the tournament. He noted that he had to adapt to playing with a larger golf ball than the "British ball" that was used in South America.[12]

Orellana won the Chile Open in 1960 and 1963 and the inaugural Argentine Masters in 1961.

Team appearances

References
  1. "Chilean Golfer Fulfills Masters Dream With Rare Chance". ESPN. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  2. Lee, David (6 April 2015). "Matias Dominguez represents Chile as amateur in Augusta". Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  3. Hermosilla, Diego (6 April 2015). "El Encuentro entre los golfistas chilenos del Masters de Augusta". La Tercera (in Spanish).
  4. Steinbreder, John (16 January 2017). "Toto Gana Captures Latin America Amateur in Playoff". Masters.
  5. http://www.laacgolf.com/scores/
  6. "Carolina Golfer Martin Ureta Qualifies For U.S. Open". Tar Heel Times. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  7. Hermosilla, Diego (10 April 2014). "Medio siglo de un recuerdo en el Masters de Augusta". La Tercera (in Spanish).
  8. Opazo, Héctor (20 January 2015). "Un privilegio reservado para pocos nacionales". El Mercurio (in Spanish). p. 8. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  9. Opazo, Héctor (20 January 2015). "Un privilegio reservado para pocos nacionales". El Mercurio (in Spanish). p. 9. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  10. https://www.usopen.com/players/47529.html#!tab-bio
  11. Contreras, José (20 January 2015). "Recuerdos de maestro" (PDF). La Tercera (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2015.
  12. Contreras, José (19 January 2015). "Enrique Orellana: 'Que Domínguez disfrute la experiencia". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 April 2015.
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