Zandre Roye and Ryan Lue departed Jamaica on Sunday for Argentina where they will represent the island at the 10th Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) from January 16 to 19 at the Pilar Golf Club in Buenos Aires.
This is Roye’s second time at the championship while Lue will be making his debut. Roye is Jamaica's reigning national golf champion while Lue is one the country’s best junior golfers and both are familiar with representing Jamaica internationally.
Roye’s best world ranking is 487 and that is built on his four-event wins in 2024 along with the results from his other events. Lue on the other hand is further back at 1274 with two wins during the period under review.
They will first be challenged to make the cut after the first two days and then see where they end on the leaderboard. Jamaica’s best placement at the championship is 24th by Ian Facey back in 2015.
There are twenty-eight countries and over one hundred golfers in the championship this year. The list includes some familiar competitors such as Barbados, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands and Trinidad and Tobago. They will also meet last year’s runner-up, Omar Morales of Mexico who is aiming to win the championship for the first time.
Jodi Munn-Barrow, president of the Jamaica Golf Association said that she was proud of the two-man team that is selected to represent Jamaica this year at the championship.
“(I am) Very proud to know that both Zandre Roye and Ryan Lue have qualified for the Latin America Amateur Championships in Argentina. I know that both boys have been preparing well for the event and they will give it their best efforts, and I am hopeful that both of them will make it to the weekend and finish out with strong golf and of course making Jamaica proud.”