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• Samuda and Munn-Barrow triumph at AMG Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament

  Owen Samuda and Jodi Munn-Barrow emerged as champions of the AMG Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament, held at the Caymanas Golf Club in St. Catherine over the weekend. The annual event, one of Jamaica’s most prestigious golf tournaments, saw over 80 golfers competing despite challenges posed by recent weather conditions.

  Samuda, who has been enjoying a stellar run of form, dominated the male category with back-to-back rounds of one-under-par 71, finishing with an impressive two-under-par 142. He won by a commanding 13-stroke margin, cementing his reputation as one of the country’s top golfers.

  Reflecting on his victory, Samuda shared, “After the disappointment in the Jamaica Open last week, I realized that you can’t drive a car while looking behind you. I came into this tournament with a lot of confidence and positive thoughts. I played really well yesterday, and even better today, so I feel great about the win.”

  Samuda’s performance marked the only under-par scores across the tournament. Former national champion Oshae Haye finished second with an 11-over-par 155, while Zandre Roye and Sean Morris tied for third at 14-over-par 158.

  In the female category, Jamaica Golf Association President Jodi Munn-Barrow delivered her trademark consistency to claim the Ladies 0-6 title. Munn-Barrow posted scores of 75 on both days, totaling six-over-par 150 to secure her win by a comfortable 21 strokes over Michele McCreath, who finished at 171.

  “It was a little more difficult this time,” Munn-Barrow admitted. “I haven’t been playing much because of my involvement with the Jamaica Open, so my game this weekend was scrappy. But I managed to get the ball around, and I’m happy with how I performed despite not being at my best.”

  The tournament also featured numerous category winners, including Quentin Hugh-Sam and Philip Gooden, who scored 168 to win the Men & Men Senior 7-12 section. Other winners included Gifford Wilmott (Men & Men Senior 13-24) with a score of 157, and Diane Hudson, who topped the Ladies 13 and over category with a score of 184.

  The event, held for the 29th year, is a tribute to seven of Jamaica’s past national golf representatives: Milton "Buddy" Josephs, Izette Rhone, Lenan "Lennie" Chin, John Fulford, Al Chong, Claude Stewart, and Mark Chin. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Lawes Street Trade Training Centre, with the goal of raising JMD$1 million annually.

  Peter Chin, president of the Buccaneers Golf Club, praised the event’s resilience despite weather challenges. “This tournament has been running since the 1990s and is the oldest golf tournament outside of the Jamaica Open on the JGA calendar. The course was in great condition considering the rain over the past few weeks,” Chin said.

  The AMG Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament was sponsored by AMG Packaging, with Scientific & Medical Supplies as an associate sponsor.

   

   

   

   

   

   

• Sale, Skubal win MLB's Cy Young Awards

  Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal and Atlanta Braves lefty Chris Sale were each named the winner of their respective league’s Cy Young Award on Wednesday.

  The announcement was hardly a surprise after each ace won their league's pitching triple crown during the 2024 regular season.

  This is the first Cy Young for both pitchers.

  Skubal, who turned 28 on Wednesday, enjoyed a break-out year in his fourth full MLB season, and was a unanimous winner, receiving all 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The Kansas City Royals' Seth Lugo finished second and Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase finished third in the balloting, which was completed before the play-offs.

  Sale received 26 of 30 first-place votes, while Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler finished second, ahead of Pittsburgh Pirates righty Paul Skenes, who was selected as the National League Rookie of the Year on Monday.

  The 35-year-old Sale has come close to winning the award before, finishing as runner-up to Cleveland's Corey Kluber in 2017, with five other top-five finishes in voting since his first full season in the majors in 2011.

  Since the inception of the Cy Young Award in 1956, there have been 16 pitchers to win his league's pitching crown. And now, every one of them has also won that year's Cy Young.

  Skubal and Sale each won an MLB-best 18 games, while Skubal led all pitchers with 228 strikeouts – three more than Sale. Sale's ERA of 2.38 was just a tick better than Skubal's 2.39.

  Both were dominant down the stretch in leading their teams to the play-offs, with Sale permitting two earned runs or fewer in each of his final 18 regular-season starts, though he was unable to pitch in the season final or the Braves' NL Wild-Card series loss to the San Diego Padres because of a back injury.

  Skubal posted a 1.94 ERA in his final nine outings, and then threw 13 shutout innings in his first two play-off starts in helping the Tigers surprisingly reach the American League Division Series. He ended up going 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA in three post-season starts.

  Skubal became the fifth Tiger to win the Cy Young trophy – and first since Max Scherzer in 2017 – and Sale is the fifth Brave to earn the award – and first since Hall of Famer Tom Glavine in 1998.

  Despite several close calls in Cy Young voting for Sale, he has dealt with injuries for the past five seasons, and was limited to a total of 151 innings over the past three years for the Boston Red Sox.

  In his first season with the Braves, however, he threw 177 2/3 innings and was awarded the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award last Thursday.

• McIlroy honoured to be 'mentioned in same breath' as Ballesteros after matching Race to Dubai tally

  Rory McIlroy says he is honoured to be "mentioned in the same breath" as Seve Ballesteros, after matching the Spaniard's haul of six Race to Dubai titles.

  McIlroy secured the title for the third year running following his victory at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on Sunday.

  The four-time major winner finished two shots clear of Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard to seal his third triumph in the event.

  "Everyone knows what Seve means to European golf and Ryder Cup players," an emotional McIlroy told Sky Sports.

  "The European Ryder Cup locker room, all we have are quotes from Seve. We had a changing room with Seve's shirt from [1995], the last Ryder Cup he played.

  "He means so much to European golf and for me to be mentioned in the same breath, I'm very proud."

  "I've been through a lot this year, professionally, personally, and it feels like the fitting end to 2024," added McIlroy, who narrowly lost out on the US Open title to Bryson DeChambeau.

  "I've persevered this year a lot, had close calls, wasn't able to get it done. I'm really pleased with the way I finished and, thankfully, I hung on after a tough day and got the job done."