The Jamaican team that represented the island at the 67th 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 7th 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 15th 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 12th place with a combined total of 222.
The youngest male player on tour was Ryan Lue and he occupied the 20th spot with a total score of 228.
Jack Stein and Aman Dhiman were tied for 25th 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.
The youthful Jamaican team that represented the island at the 67th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship at the Iberostar Golf Course in Bavaro, Dominican Republic gave a good account of themselves after ending in the runner up spot for two of the three trophies on offer and third in the other one.
The country trophy or the Arthur Ziadie trophy went to perennial winner Puerto Rico while Jamaica copped the runner-up trophy. They also retained the Ladies trophy or the George Teale trophy ahead of Jamaica who bagged the runner-up trophy while Bahamas came third. Puerto Rico also won the Hoerman Cup or the trophy for the male golfers. Host country the Dominican Republic came second and Jamaica improved its position from last year to land the third spot.
Emily Mayne was tied for second in the ladies category 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 which totalled 221 or just one shot behind second place Mayne. Mattea Issa who had two days of 73 each, had a rough last day after posting nine over pay 81 to close the championship on 227, tied for 7th place. The fourth female player, Kingston Burke totaled 248 for the three days with scores of 85, 82 and 81 for 15th place.
The overall ladies winner was Arabella Lopez of Puerto Rico. She topped the leaderboard on all three days with scores of six under par 66, one under par 71 and another one under par 71 for the final round, for an eight under 208 total score.
On the men side Rocco Lopez was the best placed player after closing the championship tied for fifth place. His scores were 72, 71 and 72 for one under par 215. Former national champion was further back in 12th place with a combined total of 222 (71, 76, 70). The youngest male player on tour was Ryan Lue and he occupied the 20th spot with scores of 76, 72 and 80 for a total score of 228. Two players Jack Stein and Aman Dhiman were tied for 25th place with a three day total of 232. The sixth and final player and current national champion Zandre Roye had a rough championship after posting scores of nine over par 81 for the first two days and seven over par 79 on the final day for a combined score of 241.
Team manager Sebert Walker summed up the team’s performance which was commendable based on the proliferation of young and new players who were representing at the senior level for the first time.
“After 54 holes of golf in the Dominican Republic our 2024 male and female team comprised of ten, came out with our female team finishing second and our male team third of course our combined team finishing second overall.
The Jamaican ladies team finished the first day of the 67th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship atop the leaderboard, driven by stellar performances from Kierra Williams and Emily Mayne. Both golfers shot an even par 72, securing Jamaica's leading position as they vie for the George Teale Trophy.
Puerto Rico trailed closely with a plus one score, while the Dominican Republic held third place with a plus 13 score.
On the men's side, the Jamaican team, competing for the Hoerman Cup, ended the day in third place with a plus eight score. Contributions came from Oshae Haye (71), Rocco Lopez (72), Ryan Lue (76), and Aman Dhiman (77). Puerto Rico led the men's team section with a minus three score, followed by the Dominican Republic in second place with a plus one score.
The championship, featuring nine teams, is being contested at the Iberostar Golf Course in Bavaro, Dominican Republic.
Individually, Jamaica's ladies occupied three of the top five spots. Puerto Rico's Arabella Lopez led with an impressive six under par 66, six strokes ahead of her closest rivals. Tied for second place were Kierra Williams and Emily Mayne, each posting an even par 72. Mattea Issa followed closely in fourth place with a one over par 73. Holly McClean of the Cayman Islands was in fifth place with a three over par 75, while Jamaica's newcomer Kingston Burke was joint 16th with a 13 over par 85.
Among the Jamaican men, former national champion Oshae Haye was the best placed, ending day one in joint fourth place with a one under par 71. The leaders in the men's individual section were Rodrigo Huerta of the Dominican Republic and Marc Alvero of Puerto Rico, both shooting three under par 69. Juan Cayro Delgado of the Dominican Republic was in third place with a two under par 70.
Other Jamaican men's scores included Rocco Lopez (even par 72), Ryan Lue (four over par 76), Aman Dhiman (five over par 77), Jack Stein (seven over par 79), and national champion Zandre Roye (nine over par 81).
The golfers look forward to the second round of competition, set to commence at 8:00 am on Thursday at the same venue in the Dominican Republic.
An upbeat Jamaica senior team of mostly junior golfers departed the island on Sunday for the 66th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship in the Trinidad & Tobago between July 27 to 29.
The four female members of the team are Jodi Munn-Barrow, juniors Emily Mayne, Mattea Issa and the only new comer Anoushka Katri, who played in the U15 category this year on the junior team.
Many-time national representative Jodi Munn-Barrow, president of the Jamaica Golf Association (JGA) and the secretary of the Caribbean Golf Association, expects Jamaica to do well in this year.
"I expect the team to perform well. They know each other. Most of them played last year together. The camaraderie is high. Everybody really wants go out there and make Jamaica proud and that's all we can ask of them. It's very good to see that six of the ten players are juniors so that's very good for our programme," said Munn-Barrow.
In terms of her own game she said, "well from my side, I am hoping to bring some experience to help the girls as best as I can, of course to go out there and try my best."
Mayne who captained the team that carried home George Teale Trophy last year said "I am hoping to play well. I am hoping to bring home a trophy again as last year the women's team won the trophy. So, I am just hoping that we can really build some team spirit and help everyone play well so we can bring home the trophy."
The male members of the team are Justin Burrowes - captain, Zandre Roye who returns to the team after a number of years; juniors Rocco Lopez, Aman Dhiman and Ryan Lue. The sixth player, William Knibbs is already in Trinidad & Tobago and will participate in the two practice rounds prior to the start of the championship. The male team placed fourth in 2022.
"I think I am pretty prepared. The last four five months I have not been in Jamaica. I changed my base to the States. I have been playing golf every single day, practicing every single day. I have been really working on my short game which always need a bit of work. I am looking forward to this week. I am always honoured to represent my country," said Burrowes.
Junior golfer, Lopez, will be following his coach's instruction "to not expect anything, just go out there and try my best and whatever happens, happens but I expect to play well because I have been practicing very hard and I am excited to play."
Dr. Mark Newnham, the team manager was upbeat about the team's chances to do well this year.
"This year I think we have the perfect team, perfect of young enthusiastic hungry talent with the right mix of experience. I am not going to call anybody older but let's say wiser, so we have that perfect mix. We are looking forward to building on the success of last year. Our women's division took home the top prize so we are just looking forward this year to representing and doing better than last year."
He also said that the men are motivated to put on a special performance this year, led by Burrowes who plans to go pro next year and wants to go out with a bang as an amateur.
The team received sponsorship support from the Jamaica Olympic Association.
It was a clean sweep for Team Puerto winning all team divisions at the CGA’s 64th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships (CAGC). Six Caribbean countries sent their best 47 golfers to compete August 24-26 at the Country Club at Grand Reserve, Rio Grande, in Puerto Rico.
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