Lindy Delapenha Golf Classic returns

The highly anticipated Keller Williams Jamaica Lindy Delapenha Golf Classic will return on Saturday, July 16 at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club, St Catherine.

More than 80 of Jamaica’s top male and female amateur golfers are expected to turn out for the event, with a ‘shotgun start’ at 8:30 a.m. The format of the event is ‘18-hole Stableford’, with half handicap. The entry fee per person is $6,000, and the categories are men, men’s senior, men’s super-senior, and ladies. The tournament director is Peter Lindo, who succeeds long-time director David Mais.

The annual event on Jamaica’s golfing calendar is staged by the Munro College Old Boys Association (MCOBA) to commemorate the life of the late great Lloyd ‘Lindy’ Delapenha, an MCOBA Hall of Fame inductee who is a sporting legend for Jamaica and Munro College in several sports, and who in his later life became an avid golfer. The ashes of Delapenha were sprinkled by a palm tree near hole number nine on the Caymanas course, upon his request. During last year’s event, a headstone in the vicinity was unveiled by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment & Sport Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange at a small ceremony attended by his family.

ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

With the help of prominent old-boy golfers Peter and Robert Chin, the MCOBA has staged an annual golf tournament for the better part of a decade before it was rebranded as the Lindy Delapenha Golf Classic in 2017. While no event was staged in 2020, this year marks the fifth edition of the event in its new format, managed by old boy coordinator Telroy Morgan.

Although he is personally more famous in hockey circles than in golf, MCOBA President Victor Tomlinson is delighted at the big comeback of the event, after missing a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We at the MCOBA are extremely ecstatic to get the annual Lindy Delapenha Golf Tournament back on track, especially on the heels of managing to have a successful tournament last year, despite very strict COVID-19 restrictions.”

“COVID-19 is still with us and as responsible organisers, relevant protocols will still be in place,” Tomlinson noted, “but at least, psychologically, the mood should be even more relaxed than last year, which we hope translates to even more competitive scores and more fun all around. I am happy to announce that the big thing that was missing last year, the presentation ceremony after the competition, will return this year.”

In addition to assorted trophies and sponsor-branded gift baskets, golfers at the event will also walk away with several prizes, including weekends for two at some of Jamaica’s top luxury hotels, as in addition to title sponsors Keller Williams, the event has attracted a plethora of sponsors, including JMMB; Proven; Jamaica Inn, Half Moon, Spanish Court and S hotels; Kleen Water; Wisynco; MegaMart; Spa Divine; long-time sponsors Alliance Investment and Appleton Rum, which was founded by the same family that established Munro College.