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• Zandre Roye and Mattea Issa claim National Amateur Golf titles

  Zandre Roye and Mattea Issa were crowned national amateur golf champions on Sunday at the Caymanas Golf Course in St. Catherine after three challenging rounds.

  Both golfers are first time champions. Issa won by seven shots while Roye won by four after posting his best score in the final round.

  Roye matched his first round four birdies but only had two bogeys to close the round on two under par 70 after scoring one under 35 for the front nine and another one under par 35 for the back nine.

  His birdies came on holes number two, six, seventeen and eighteen while the bogeys were on holes four and sixteen. His three-round scores were one under par 71, five over par 77 and 70 for a total of three over par 219.

  He was pleased with copping his first national championship after getting close on several occasions.

  “Coming into this tournament year after year and seeing the trophy and wondering when I am going to get my name on it and its just my time now," he said.

  “The course conditions were a little bit tricky out there with it being so dry but we are used to the conditions. I think I manage the game today out of all three days, pretty well. The putting was just not there this weekend but I hit a lot of greens and that helped a lot,” Roye added.

  2022 national champion Oshae Haye moved from third place on the first and second day to end the in second place, four shots behind Roye. Haye posted scores of three over par on day one and two respectively and one over par 73 on the final day for a combined score of seven over par 223.

  Junior golfer Trey Williams performed very well in the championship after taking over the lead at the end of the second round with a one under par 71 but was pegged back in the final round with four over par 76 in the third round. His total score of eight over par 224 included 77 in the first round, to be one stroke off the runner-up spot.

  First time national female champion Mattea Issa got the better of many-time national champion Jodi Munn Barrow to win by seven shots.

  Issa's final day scorecard showed three birdies, six bogeys and two double bogeys for seven over par 79.

  Her first and second round scores were nine over par 81 on each day for a combined score of 25 over par 241. Munn-Barrow's scores were 84, 81 and 83 for a total of 32 over par 248, for the runner-up spot.

  "It feels really good. I am really happy. I am very happy for the win but diving deeper more into my game I wish I have played better. I have been playing really well recently and I am not sure if it’s the combination of the conditions, it’s very dry at the moment, the greens are in the best shape so I just have to figure out how I can properly play the course because I know that everybody had a difficult time this weekend. So, I just have to analyze that and keep on progressing and keep on getting better," said a very pleased Issa. 

  Another former national champion Sean Morris copped the trophy for the national senior champion on the back of scores of 84, 74s and even par 72 to close the championship at 12 over par 228.

  The national super senior champion was Keith Stein 227 (78, 71, 78). Philip Prendergast 232 (72, 82, 78) bagged the runner-up spot while former Jamaica Golf Association (JGA) president Wayne Chai Chong 235 (85, 76, 74) was third.

  Munn-Barrow, the current JGA president praised the players for their performances.

  “What we saw was very good performances from all of our juniors in all of the various categories. So, it was a good week, the only disappointment for this week was the lack of sponsorship of our national event. I am hoping that next year we can get sponsorship so we can have an even bigger and better event.”

   

• Fowler-Nembhard outgunned as West Coast Fever suffer first loss of season to Melbourne Vixens

  In a highly anticipated top-of-the-table clash, the previously unbeaten West Coast Fever succumbed to their first loss of the season, falling 76-65 to the Melbourne Vixens at RAC Arena on Sunday.

  Despite an impressive performance from Jhanielle Fowler-Nembhard, who scored 41 goals from 43 attempts, the Fever were unable to overcome the combined efforts of the Vixens’ Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin, who scored 45 and 22 goals respectively. The Fever’s defeat came before their largest ever home crowd of more than 11,000 fans.

  The Melbourne Vixens arrived in Perth determined to bounce back from their tough loss to the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Round Six. Their hunger to dethrone the undefeated Fever was evident from the opening whistle.

  The Vixens executed a flawless game plan, capitalizing on uncharacteristic errors from the Fever. Defensive stars Emily Mannix and Rudi Ellis were instrumental in shutting down Fowler-Nembhard, while Kiera Austin’s exceptional performance in the GA position proved pivotal in securing the victory. Austin’s impressive stats—104.5 Nissan Net Points, 16 goal assists, 17 center pass receives, 22 feeds, and shooting at an impressive 95 per cent, underscored her critical role in the triumph.

  “We worked really hard in training this week. I think we were all a bit disappointed in what we wanted to put out there (last week against the Lightning), and when you do the work, the results come,” said MVP Austin post-match.

  From the start, the Vixens set the tone with clever play and speedy ball movement. Emily Mannix made a statement early with a spectacular intercept and multiple deflections, while Kiera Austin was strong against Sunday Aryang, scoring nine from 10 in the opening quarter. Despite Fran Williams’ electric defense for the Fever, which initially helped them to a 22-19 lead at quarter time, the Vixens’ resilience shone through.

  A terrific second-quarter surge saw the Vixens seize control, with Austin continuing her dominant performance, amassing 44.5 Nissan Net Points for the quarter. Austin and Garbin executed flawless screens and rotations, keeping the Fever defenders on their toes. Emily Mannix and Rudi Ellis were clinical in defense, forcing turnovers and ultimately sending Shanice Beckford to the bench. By half-time, the Vixens held a six-goal lead (42-36).

  In the second half, the Fever showed renewed vigor, lifting their pressure and chipping away at the scoreboard. However, the Vixens remained composed, sticking to their game plan and gradually widening their lead. Garbin’s seamless play and Austin’s consistent feeding under the post left the Fever’s defense in disarray. The Vixens’ defensive pressure disrupted the Fever's attacking flow, and despite intense collisions and physical play, they maintained their lead, heading into the final quarter with an 11-point advantage.

  The Fever made several changes in a bid to orchestrate a comeback in the final quarter, but the Vixens' starting lineup remained steadfast. The Fever managed to narrow the gap with clutch Super Shots from Fowler-Nembhard, but the Vixens’ composure and Garbin’s offensive rebounds extended their lead.

   

   

   

   

• Wilson's Player-of-the-Match performance on 50th-game milestone propels Thunderbirds over Swifts

  Jamaican defender Latanya Wilson, produced a Player of the Match performance in her 50th national league game to assist Adelaide Thunderbirds to a comfortable 58-33 win over New South Wales Swifts in a lopsided affair at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday.

  The contest, which was a repeat of last year’s grand final, was expected to be just a fierce, but Wilson and her Thunderbirds teammates were in a no-nonsense mood, as they won all but one quarter of the encounter to bounce back from last week's nail-biting one-goal loss to West Coast Fever.

  Wilson, 23, notched up 118.5 Nissan Net Points thanks to four intercepts, seven deflections and nine pick-ups in a performance that matches her milestone.

  “It feels so amazing. What a milestone. It is such a great feeling and I am so happy we got the win. We are evolving and we are hunting something new, whatever that looks like, I am so happy that I am a part of this great team,” a beaming Wilson said in a post-game interview.

  While the wing defence did her part along with compatriot and goalkeeper Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, who had five deflections and three intercepts, another Jamaican Romelda Aiken-George led the Thunderbirds attack with 30 goals from 32 attempts.

  Lucy Austin (12 goals from 12 attempts), Georgie Horjus (nine goals from 10 attempts), and Lauren Frew (seven goals from nine attempts), contributed the others.

  

  Wilson was on song in the Thunderbirds defence.

  Meanwhile, the Swifts, who were off beat all-around, got most goals from Sophie Fawns (16 goals from 19 attempts). Helen Housby (10 goals from 14 attempts), Trinidad and Tobago’s Samantha Wallace-Joseph (five goals from seven attempts) and Grace Whyte (two goals from four attempts), got the others.

  Aside from the opening quarter in which they came out strong and secured a 13-12 lead over the Thunderbirds, the Swifts struggled to maintain momentum throughout.

  In fact, they made a number of errors in the second quarter that shifted things in favour of the Thunderbirds, who capitalised and won the quarter 11-7 to overtake the lead at 23-20 at the half-time interval.

  Wallace-Joseph finally entered the court for the Swifts to start the third quarter which meant Housby moved back into her preferred position of goal attack, but the move proved futile.

  While both teams made some uncharacteristic errors, the Thunderbirds recovered best and later asserted their authority on the contest in what turned out to be a match-winning third quarter.

  Sterling-Humphrey made her presence felt and picked up a flying intercept, after which, Wilson took the mantle to shut out the Swifts, as they ended the quarter 13 goals up at 41-28.

  Faced with the huge deficit, it was crucial for the Swifts to come out firing in the fourth quarter - and they did for the most part, but another intercept from Sterling-Humphrey prevented them from scoring.

  From there, the Swifts racked up penalties and turnovers, while missing six of their 11 attempts, as Thunderbirds effortlessly took the quarter 17-5 to complete the 25-goal rout.