Barry University rising sophomore Daniel Stapff won the 79th Annual Brazilian Amateur Golf Championship after shooting an 10-under-par total of 278 (71-76-64-67) at the Itanhanga' Golf Club in Rio de Janeiro.
Stapff vaulted into the lead with an 8-under-par 64 on third round, the low round of the tournament, and closed out the title with a 5-under-par 67 on the final round to edge out Peru’s Joaquim Lolas by four strokes and Columbian Daniel Ocampo by seven.
“I don’t think I can describe my joy,” Stapff said. “This is the most important tournament in Brazil and it’s always been my dream to win it.”
Stapff also teamed with Brazil’s number one ranked amateur Rafael da Silveira Becker to win the 2
nd Mario Gonzalez Cup, over pairs from 10 other countries. Stapff and Becker combined to shoot 568 to easily beat the pair from Peru, Lolas and Patricio Alzamora, by eight strokes. Columbia, with Ocampo and Ricardo Jose Celia Trespalacios, finished third at 591.
In the women’s field at the Amateur, Stapff’s sister Isadora, a rising junior at Barry, finished tied for second, just one shot off the pace. Mariana de Biase of Rio de Janiero claimed the title with a four round 299 (79-71-74-75), one shot ahead of Stapff (78-75-77-70—300) and Nathalie Rodrigues da Silva (74-81-85-70—300).
