Jarryd Dillas and Walker Campbell will be looking to improve on their previous showing when they tee off at the Latin America Amateur Championship at the Club de Golf de Panama on Thursday.

The Bermudian golfers both missed the cut at last year’s event at Casa De Campo in the Dominican Republic where Dillas came up short by one stroke and Campbell by 11.

The 31-year-old Dillas is making his third appearance at the championship and teenager Campbell his second.

At stake is a spot at this year’s Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.

“The LAAC represents a fantastic opportunity for Jarryd and Walker,” said Craig Brown, the Bermuda Golf Association president.

“They’ll be competing against the best players from our region, with a spot at the Masters on the line.

“For an amateur golfer, it really doesn’t get any better than that.

“Jarryd is coming off a good showing at the World Amateur Team Championships in Mexico this past September, so I know he’ll be looking to make the cut and finish in the top half of the field.

“Walker has just completed his first semester at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, which when added to his experience from last year’s event should serve him well.

“The BGA is proud to support our players in such a prestigious event and we hope that all of Bermuda will join with us in wishing both Jarryd and Walker the very best of luck.”

The championship was founded three years ago by the Masters Tournament, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the United States Golf Association, to help grow the game of golf in South and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Invitations for the event are sent to the leading players from the 29 IOC-recognised countries and territories from the Latin American region that are members of the International Golf Federation.

Each country is automatically provided with two spots in the field, which are to be filled by their best-ranked players from the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Meanwhile, local professional Camiko Smith will tee off at the Latin American Tour qualifier at Sun N’ Lake Golf Club in Sebring, Florida, today.

He intends to use the tournament as a stepping stone towards his ultimate goal of competing against the world’s elite on the US PGA Tour.

“My long-term goal is to earn my PGA Tour card,” Smith said. “This is a task that I believe I’m highly capable of achieving.”

The Latin American Tour is one of several lower-tier tours that factor into the Official World Golf Ranking. The top five in the tour’s Order of Merit earn status onto the Web.com Tour, with the money leader being fully exempt to the PGA Tour.