Strong Ja CGA Champs start

Jamaica recorded a good start to the Caribbean Golf Association Four-Ball Championships after ending in second position behind Puerto Rico yesterday. Puerto Rico (22 points) were just ahead of Jamaica with 21 points. The eight-country competition is completed by Bahamas (13), Cayman Islands (11), Barbados (10), Trinidad & Tobago (six), US Virgin Islands (five), and Turks & Caicos Islands (4).

The two-man team of national champion Sean Morris and Mark Newnham, who are vying for the Francis & Steel-Perkins Trophy for Men 50 and over, posted the best score of all the golfers on the course. They ended round one on 65, or seven under par, after posting four birdies each on the front and back nine and just one bogey on the front nine. Puerto Rico 70 or two-under par had the next best score for second place in the particular trophy category.

Morris, who described the conditions as very humid, said: “It gives us a good feeling getting off to a good start, especially with the weather forecast predicted for the area. It could become possible to use a 36-hole score to determine the winner in the event that the 54-hole tournament gets cut to 36 holes.”

TOUGH CONDITIONS

Morris added: “We played solid golf all day and were rewarded with eight birdies. Playing a challenging course such as this at seven under par definitely gives us a shot in the arm heading into day two. Conditions were tough out there, being so wet and the swirling winds.”

Puerto Rico’s two-man team was in second position with a score of 73, or one over par, and eight strokes behind Jamaica.

Two other Jamaican teams were in first place in their age groups. Jodi Munn-Barrow and Alison Reid scored 80, or eight over par, ahead of Puerto Rico 83 for the Marie Nunes Trophy (35+). Michele Gabay and Maggie Lyn, who are competing for the Dessie Henry Trophy, lead with 81 ahead of Trinidad & Tobago, who were one stroke behind on 82.

Michael Boyd and Bert Tomlinson were in second with a score of 78 behind Barbados (77). They are competing for the Higgs & Higgs Trophy in the 60 and over age group.

In the final of the team categories, the Ramon Baez Romano trophy (Men 35+) saw the Jamaican team of John O’Donoghue and Philip Prendergast ending the round in seventh place with a score of 82, or 10 over par, while Puerto Rico were first on 70, or two under par.

Team Jamaica looks forward to today’s second day of competition, with Michael Boyd and Bert Tomlinson being the first Jamaicans to tee off at 7:45 a.m., while Morris and Newnham are set for an 8:05 a.m. start. The Ladies team of Munn-Barrow and Alison Reid will tee off at 9:35 a.m.

Jamaica are seeking their first win of the CGA Four-Ball Championships. The 54-hole championships are being played at the PGA National Resort and Spa at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and is scheduled to end tomorrow.

Other scores

• Rory Jardine & Owen Samuda - 70

• Dorrel Allen and Robert Chin – 74

• Greg Chong and Williams Lee – 79

• Peter Chin and George Hugh – 79