Catching Up With 2025 LAAC Champion Justin Hastings

In 2015, the inaugural Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) was conducted at Pilar Golf Club, located just outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Matias Dominguez, of Chile, captured the title and became the first player to earn an exemption into the Masters Tournament through his victory in the championship. Since then, the LAAC has added two more exemptions through The R&A and USGA – first into The Open Championship beginning in 2020 and then into the U.S. Open, beginning in 2023.

Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, of Argentina, became the first player to earn a U.S. Open exemption via the LAAC with his win at Grand Reserve Golf Club, in Puerto Rico. He was followed by Mexican standout Santiago De la Fuente at Santa Maria Golf Club, in Panama, and this January, Justin Hastings, of the Cayman Islands, became the third player to punch his ticket to the U.S. Open via the LAAC, with a one-stroke victory over Patrick Sparks at the birthplace of the championship, Pilar Golf Club.

Due to pending weather on Sunday, Hastings and the rest of the competitors who made the cut endured a 36-hole marathon finish on Saturday of championship week. He became the second player representing the Cayman Islands to compete in the Masters Tournament in April (Aaron Jarvis in 2022) and will become the first Cayman player to compete in the U.S. Open when he tees off on Thursday afternoon. The USGA’s Adrian Godoy chatted with him ahead of his appearance in the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club:

Question: How would you describe the way your life changed since your victory in Argentina?

Justin Hastings: Yeah, it's been a big rush. The months flew by, obviously having a lot of fun taking advantage of the opportunities I was given. The Masters was an unbelievable experience, and this one has been nothing short of that so far, so I'm excited to get it going.  As an amateur, to receive these kind of starts is life-changing alone, and then to hopefully take advantage of it with some good golf and see what it gets me in my [pending] pro career, it gives you an unbelievable opportunity.

Question: How did competing in the Masters help prepare for this week?

Justin Hastings: I've noticed this week that I've felt a lot more comfortable and at ease, and I think that's a large part of what I experienced at the Masters. The crowds out there and the atmosphere and the hype of everything is about as high as it gets, and I've found this week that I've felt a lot more comfortable and a little bit more like I belong. I think that's helped me a lot in preparation, and I've found that I'm less nervous doing kind of normal things. I think hopefully it'll show this week in the golf.

Question: How do you feel like you deal with the nerves and the pressure? Any mental strategies you’ve developed during and since your first major-championship appearance?

Justin Hastings: A lot of it's just sticking to the routine that I've used for a very long time.  I think the bigger the moment gets, the more strict you have to be with that. To a point it just becomes muscle memory. I'll draw back to experiences like the Masters and those times I was nervous. You're always nervous on the first tee, but once you get that first tee shot done, everything starts to feel like a normal round of golf again. Like I said, a lot of muscle memory involved.

Question: Switching gears to this week: the 10th U.S. Open to be contested at Oakmont Country Club. What came to mind when you knew you’d be playing in this championship at this historic venue?

Justin Hastings: The first thing that came to my mind was I've heard this is the hardest golf course, maybe in the world and in the United States. So, for sure it's kind of the consensus I've heard. I had paid attention to the 2016 tournament when only a few guys were under par, and I've now watched that back and everything. I knew what I was getting myself into and the history and everything behind it and how it's hosted the most U.S. Opens.  It's an unbelievable experience to have my first one here.

Question: What have you learned about the course and about your game on this course in your first couple of practice rounds?

Justin Hastings: It's just like what everybody says. It's simple in a lot of ways, but it's very complex in a lot of ways. It's simple in the sense that you'll succeed if you hit fairways and you hit greens, but it's kind of like the subtleties around the greens and the subtleties even in the fairways. That's the stuff that I think you've really got to pay attention to, and the guys that can manage those little things are probably the guys that are going to have the most success this week.

Question: Is there anyone out here this week that you might’ve looked up to growing up? Maybe that you even tried to get a practice round in with specifically?

Justin Hastings: Pretty much every guy out here I looked up to as a kid, so that's cool being around them and just seeing what's up in the locker room and things like that. In terms of playing with, I played with Dustin Johnson at the Masters and got a couple practice rounds in there, and I've found this week we've been a little more focused on us and doing what we need to do. There's a lot of preparation that goes into this golf tournament, so we've played a couple practice rounds with just one other guy and then a couple with some smaller names, if you will, just so we can really focus on what we're doing and our task at hand.

Question: Did you get any pointers from the 2016 champion here at Oakmont when you played together at Augusta?

Justin Hastings: I played the first and second rounds with Dustin, so there was a little bit less conversation. But I played a practice round with [past champion] Patrick Reed over there at Augusta, and he was great talking to me. Obviously, a Masters champion, he filled me in on some of his secrets there, and then we briefly discussed the next two majors that he knew I was playing in. He was great to talk to in the practice round.

Question: What’s going to be the biggest challenge for you this week?

Justin Hastings: It's going to be mental. I think with how difficult this place is, it's going to eat you alive mentally if you let it, so I think the biggest thing is going to be to stay where your feet are, keep things in front of you, and just do what you know how to do. I think if you're short tempered and things like that, then this place will really eat you alive, so I'm going to be out there embracing it, enjoying it, smiling and I'm not going to let it get the better of me.  

Question: Last, but certainly not least – how does it feel to be the first Cayman to compete in the U.S. Open?

Justin Hastings: It feels great. I am super honored to be the first person from my country to compete in this event. I always fly my flag with pride, but at this level it really is a little bit extra special.