Top golfers ready to swing at LIME Cup

Over the course of the next month, a number of the country's top golfers will converge on courses at Montego Bay's Cinnamon Hill, St Ann's Upton and St Catherine's Caymanas Club for the second staging of the LIME Cup.

The event, which was last year sponsored by Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) and was one of the most exciting events on the local calender, will see the country's number one golfer, Jonathan Newnham, and 2009 junior standout, Danielle Morris, leading a list of established players, including Bobby Chin, Rory Jardine, Fabian Campbell, Jodi Barrow, Michelle Gabay and Maggie Lyn.

To be played as a team challenge, the event, which will tee off on Saturday at Cinnamon Hill, will see defending champions Buccaneers of Appleton Estate, last year's runners-up Advantage Generals, new entrants LIME Lions, Pure Country Springs, SportsMax Max Pak and JMMB Eagles squaring off over four handicap flights in both male and female divisions.

"I look forward to the matchups this year," said Buccaneers of Appleton Estates captain, Metry Seaga. "LIME, I am sure, will take it to a higher level. We are cautiously optimistic that we can defend our title with other teams stepping up their efforts and aiming for us, so although we have set up space in the trophy case, we know it will be challenging."

Brainchild

Sponsored to the tune of $4.75 million by LIME, the event, which is the brainchild of regional sports broadcast channel, SportsMax, and is endorsed by the Jamaica Golf Association (JGA), will attract a total of 90 golfers on six teams, each of which comprises 12 males and three females.

"We see this tournament as yet another opportunity for LIME to contribute significantly to the development of a sport that is growing in popularity in Jamaica and around the world," said Chris Dehring, chairman of LIME, at Tuesday night's launch at Cuddy'z Sports Bar and Grill.

President of the Jamaica Golf Association, Wayne Chai Chong, himself a Buccaneer and national golf representative, said the JGA is "ecstatic" that the competition is back for another year.

"We were particularly impressed last year because it provided golf with a significant shot in the arm, and we are looking forward to the high level of media coverage the competition received last year," said Chai Chong.

The Lions will be captained by Stephen Miller, the Eagles by Dr Guyan Arscott, SportsMax by Gregory Mayne, Pure Country Springs by Tony Gooden and Advantage Generals by Sean Morris.

The event will be broadcast to 25 Caribbean countries by SportsMax.

- Jermaine Lannaman