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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Manuel Merizalde of Colombia is a 45-year-old who works for a security company and rarely plays golf more than once a week. Those low expectations might have helped him in the opening round of the Latin America Amateur Championship. Merizalde shot a 66 and shared the lead with Patrick Sparks of Peru and Gabriel Palacios of Guatemala. The winner gets an invitation to the Masters and exemptions to the U.S. Open and British Open. Merizalde has been on a big stage before but it's been a while. He once played a World Cup with Camilo Villegas in Barbados.
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