Rising stars Justin Burrowes and Emily Mayne have been named among a 12-member team that will represent Jamaica at the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships, scheduled for August 8-13 in Puerto Rico, where they will compete for the Hoerman Cup and George Teale Trophy, for men and women, respectively.
The team boasts a mixture of experienced and new players and consists of six men and four women as well as two reserve players, who only travel to play if one of the named team members is unable to play.
The six-member men’s team comprises Burrowes, William Knibbs, Mark Newnham, Rocco Lopez, Shamar Wilson and Owen Samuda. Sebert Walker Jr. is the reserve player. The four-member female team is comprised of Mayne, Kai Harris, Tiana Cruz and Hannah Foster. Jodi Munn-Barrow is the reserve player.
Burrowes is coming off a very successful national senior trials in which he shot the lowest one-day score of 68 to end on par 288 over the four days, three strokes ahead of runner-up William Knibbs. He believes the Jamaica Golf Association (JGA) has selected a strong team.
“I think it represents Jamaica's top golfers right now in the country. I feel like we have the talent, we have all the tools it takes. I think we have a great blend of players on the team,” he said.
“I feel like we all get along very well, especially with Dr Newnham on the team; having that team experience and he's done it a couple of times before, definitely more than I have, whether it's Hoerman Cup, or just representing Jamaica.
“I think that he definitely has been doing it for the longest and just carrying that experience and carrying that to the younger players, I feel like that will just inspire confidence in myself and Rocco, who is younger than us, and William, who is a little older. I feel like we just have a good blend and that's definitely one of the key things for performing well - just having a good team blend and a good team spirit.”
Mayne won the female section of the national trials with a combined score of 316 which included the best round of five-over-par 77 on the last day. She is preparing for some tough competition but expects the team to do well.
"I am looking forward to the tough competition at the CAGC and am also excited to play alongside the other three girls,” she said.
“Although I am the youngest on the team, I am just focused on preparing myself to do my absolute best and stay consistent. We have a great team so I believe that with teamwork and determination we can do very well."