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• Colourful opening ceremony marks the start of the 36th CAJGC in Kingston

  The 36th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship (CAJGC) teed off in vibrant fashion on Tuesday evening with a colourful opening ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston. Hosted by the Jamaica Golf Association (JGA), the event welcomed teams from eight countries to compete in the prestigious tournament.

  This year’s championship sees participation from teams representing the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, and host Jamaica. The opening ceremony set an enthusiastic tone for the competition, which had been rescheduled from July due to the passing of Hurricane Beryl.

  Jodi Munn-Barrow, president of the JGA, extended a warm welcome to all teams and expressed confidence in a successful tournament. "Everything is in place for a very good championship," Munn-Barrow stated, emphasizing the meticulous preparations made despite the earlier postponement.

  Eduardo Figueroa, coach of defending champions Puerto Rico, expressed high expectations for his team, indicating their strong preparation and determination to retain the title.

  Alison Reid, manager of the Jamaican team, acknowledged some logistical challenges resulting from the rescheduling but remained optimistic. "Some persons who planned to compete when it was scheduled for July are no longer available, and the team will have fewer numbers than previously committed," Reid said. "However, the team will still put on a good show."

  Jamaica’s coaching duo, Jonathan Newnhan and Jason Lopez, also shared their confidence in the team’s potential. Newnhan highlighted the team’s thorough preparation, while Lopez pointed out the advantage of competing on the Caymanas Golf Course, where the team has been practicing extensively.

  The Jamaican team features talented players including team captain Mattea Issa, Trey Williams, Aman Dhiman, and Ryan Lue, all competing in the Under-18 category. Players will also compete in the Under-15 and Under-13 categories for both boys and girls.

  Peter Levey of the major sponsor British Caribbean Insurance Company (BCIC) expressed his company’s delight in supporting the event. "We are very happy to be on board for this year’s staging of the CAJGC as it represents a very good opportunity to support the development of youth sport," Levey remarked.

  The championship boasts a wide array of sponsors including Restaurants of Jamaica (KFC), Sandals Foundation, WATA, CMK, Jamaica Pegasus, Fleetwood Jamaica Limited, R&A, Island Car Rentals & Tours, Digicel Business, Titlest, and several others, demonstrating strong community and corporate backing for the event.

  The competition tees off on Wednesday at 8:00 am with the first of three rounds of 18 holes each, concluding on Friday. The closing ceremony will follow the final round, celebrating the achievements of the young golfers.

   

• Happy Jamaica team returns with runner-up trophies from 67th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship

  The Jamaican team that represented the island at the 67^th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship at the Iberostar Golf Course in Bavaro, Dominican Republic returned to the island Saturday night with runner-up trophies in the ladies category and the country category while the men came third in their category. Dr. Mark Newnham, vice president of the Jamaica Golf Association, welcomed the team on their arrival. 

  The ladies were runners-up for the second consecutive year and brought back the runner-up George Teale trophy. The four members of the ladies team were Emily Mayne, Mattea Issa and new comers Kierra Williams and Kingston Burke.

  Emily Mayne was the team's top performer. She was tied for second with scores of even par 72, one under par 71 and five over par 77 for a three-day total of four over par 220. 

  Kierra Williams ended in fourth place with scores of 72, 71 and 75 for a total score of 221 or just one shot behind second place Mayne. 

  Mattea Issa tied for 7^th place with a total score of 227 on the back of 73, 73 and 81 on the final day of the championship. 

  The fourth player, Kingston Burke totaled 248 for 15^th place. 

  The overall ladies winner was Arabella Lopez of Puerto Rico. She topped the leaderboard on all three days with a combined score eight under 208. 

  Perennial winner Puerto Rico won all three trophies on offer – the George Teale trophy, the Arhtur Ziadie or country trophy and the Hoerman Cup for the men. 

  Jamaica took home the runner-up country trophy on the back of the whole team's performance. 

  The men performed creditably to close the championship in third place after placing eighth in 2023. The male members of the team are Rocco Lopez, Zandre Roye, Oshae Haye, Ryan Lue, Jack Stein and Aman Dhiman. 

  Rocco Lopez was the best placed player after closing the championship tied for fifth place after scoring one under par 215. 

  Former national champion Haye was further back in 12^th place with a combined total of 222. 

  The youngest male player on tour was Ryan Lue and he occupied the 20^th spot with a total score of 228. 

  Jack Stein and Aman Dhiman were tied for 25^th place with a three day total of 232 each. 

  The sixth and final player, and current national champion Zandre Roye had a rough championship after posting a combined score of 241. 

  Mayne, Lopez, Issa, Lue and Dr. Newnham who met the team at the airport were pleased with the team’s performance as well as the individual performances while looking forward to more opportunities for improvement in future championships.

   

• 'I'll remember it for a long time' - Emotional Scheffler revels in Olympic gold medal win

  An emotional Scottie Scheffler says he will remember his gold medal win "for a long time" having come from behind with a record-equalling final round to win at the Olympics.

  The American started four strokes behind co-leaders Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele on Sunday but produced a superb nine-under 62 to pip Great Britain's Tommy Fleetwood to the top of the leaderboard by one stroke as he finished on 19 under at Le Golf National.

  It has been a banner year for the world number one, who won his second Masters title in April before claiming a first-ever medal at the Olympics.

  Scheffler was emotional on the podium and expressed his pride at being able to add another gold medal to the United States' medal tally at the Paris Games.

  "I get emotional in general. Usually, I have a bit more time after a tournament to kind of reflect and compose myself, but with this one, you kind of go from one thing to the next," Scheffler told NBC.

  "You don't really reflect until you're standing up there on the podium. That was a pretty special moment I'll remember for a long time: standing up there on the podium with the gold medal around my neck.

  "It's been a long week. It's been a challenging week. I played some great golf today, and I'm proud to be going home with a medal."

  Despite his impressive score, it did not always look like Scheffler would have a chance of finishing on the podium, with Rahm pulling ahead, only to suffer a collapse on the back nine to slip out of contention.

  The 28-year-old made six birdies on the back nine, including four in a row after a slightly slow start on the first half of the course.

  "I felt good most of the day," Scheffler added. "I felt like I was doing a lot of good things, and the front nine, I hit a bit of a cold stretch on 4 through 9 where I wasn't able to make any birdies; and I felt like I had what was a lot of good putts and felt like what I felt was good putts and didn't go in.

  "[Caddie] Teddy [Scott] did a really good job of helping me stay patient out there, and did a good job of reading the greens, as well, and we were able to get hot there on the back nine and move our way up the leaderboard."