Puerto Rico finished tops at the recently-concluded 36th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship (CAJGC), as they won five of the six age-group trophies on offer at the Caymanas Golf Club.

The other trophy went to The Bahamas, while the Vittoria (Izzy) Marley award for sportsmanship went to Stefaniya Mosyagina of the Dominican Republic.

Host country Jamaica (108 points) was second in two categories and third in one to eventually close the championship in fourth place behind Puerto Rico (154), Dominican Republic (131), and the Bahamas (120).

Anissa Robinson of The Bahamas, who scored 249, won the Girls’ 11-13 category for the John Fitzgerald Harewood trophy, while Isabella Ramdeen (255) of Trinidad & Tobago was second, while Jamaica’s Alessandra Coe (262) was third.

Michael Avila of Puerto Rico Boys notched 230 points to win the Boys’ 11-13 category for the Bob Slatter trophy. He finished ahead of Alejandro Balbuena (241) of the Dominican Republic, who tied for second with Bayoan Ortiz of Puerto Rico. Jamaica’s Shasa Redlefsen (243) was just two strokes back in fourth place after taking the lead at the end of the first day. The other Jamaican player, Jacob Schnoor (296), was 11th overall.

The top three in the Girls’ 15 and Under category for the Kenneth Francis trophy were Amelia Santiago (243) of Puerto Rico, Madison Carrol (247) of The Bahamas, and Shania Reyes (247) of the Dominican Republic. Jamaica did not have a competitor in the category.

Mattea Issa receives her runner-up award from Kallan Sooknoor of the Trinidad and Tobago.

For the Boys’ 15 and under group for the Arturo Pellerano trophy, Tomas Rodriguez (220) of Puerto Rico was first, ahead of second place players Fernando Leduc (227) of Puerto Rico and Arman Newman (227) of Bermuda. Jamaica’s two representatives, Kemari Morris (268) and Jamal Stewart (269), were 14th and 15th, respectively.

The Girls’ 18 and Under category for the Peter Hale trophy went to Camila Negroni (235), who led from the first round. Jamaica’s Mattea Issa (239) finished second after she had been the joint leader with Negroni at the end of the second round. The Dominican Republic’s Stefaniya Mosyagina (245) was third.

Issa was also pleased with her performance, though she thought that she could have played better overall.

“It was a very special event to me. This is the venue where I played my first-ever CAJGC back when I was 11 years old, and to be here when I am 17 still competing and still loving the game really means a lot to me. That’s what I have to look at because although I did not play my best this week—II am pretty disappointed in myself—at least there’s some positives to take away.”

Puerto Rico also grabbed the James Moss Solomon trophy for the Boys’ 18 and under, with Evan Pena recording a six under par 210. Jamaica’s Ryan Lue (223) and Rodrigo Huerto of the Dominican Republic were tied for second.

Lue was the only Jamaican to post an under par score when he shot five under par 67 to top the leaderboard for the first round. That was also the lowest individual score of the championship.

Ryan Lue accepts his award from Dr. Carey Wallace, CEO of TEF

Lue said that he was “very happy to compete” on home soil.

“All my friends are here, family, so to play in front of them, it’s just an honour,” he added.

The other local golfers in the category who completed the championship were Aman Dhiman (232 for fifth), Trey Williams (242 for ninth), and Jerone Thomas (256 for 17th).

Jamaica’s Coach Jonathan Newnham thought that his team played well, especially given that the tournament delay due to the passing of Hurricane Beryl meant some key players were no longer available.

“It was a good week. Unfortunately, with the date changes thanks to Hurricane Beryl, we weren’t able to field a full team, so that reduced our chances of winning the category overall, but we had some good individual performances, and I am very proud of the team,” he explained.

Jodi Munn-Barrow, president of the Jamaica Golf Association, said she was proud of the Jamaicans’ effort despite Puerto Rico’s dominance.

“In the end, we are happy that we were able to host a successful tournament,” she noted.

Jamaica's young golfers recently completed their three-day trials at the Caymanas Golf Club where they performed well under challenging conditions.

The trials were geared towards selecting the team for this year's Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship which will also be held at the Caymanas Golf Club in early July of this year. 

Trey Williams led the boys while Mattea Issa led the girls with outstanding performances. Williams was the only golfer to post an under-par score with a two-under-par 70 on the final day. 

Williams faced six competitors in the Boys 18 and Under category. He posted eight over par 80, four over par 76 and two under par 70 for the three days respectively, for a combined total of 10 over par 226 which is his best placement in a local competition to date. 

"I feel really good about it. After the first day I was down by a good amount but I just kept my cool. I knew that I can play this course well and for the next two days I just made sure I played conservative and I gave it my all and it worked out" said Williams. 

He now looks forward to the championships.

"Seeing how the championship is at this very course and I know I can play well at this course I am going to continue to practice, make sure that my game is at the top that it can be and give it my all when the championship comes and make sure that I can do well." 

Aman Dhiman was second with scores of 72, 84 and 78 for a total score of 18 over par 234 while Ryan Lue was two strokes back on 236 (76, 83, 77). 

Issa, with scores of 81, 80 and 81 (242), said that the trials conditions were difficult. 

"To set the scene, the layout of the course was very difficult. Where they put the pins and where they put the tee boxes, they made the course as hard as possible for us kids to challenge us and then also the conditions of the course like the wind and the condition of the grass and the bunkers. That wasn't in the best condition so obviously it was unpredictable where the ball might go at certain times and the speed of the greens and things like that so you have to take that in consideration before analyzing the scores and analyzing the weekend." 

The other female competitor in the Girls 18 and Under category was Anoushka Katri. She scored 107, 99 and 94 for a three-day total of 300. 

Results in the other age groups were: Boys 15 and U - Kemari Morris - 256 (89, 81, 86), Davion Hogan 263 (85, 94, 84) and Cameron Coe 273 (92, 92, 89); Boys 13 and U - Shasa Redlefsen 245 (83, 82, 80) and Girls 13 and U - Alessandra Coe 266 (92, 88, 86). 

The team, when announced will under-go intense preparation by coach Jonathan Newnham who was himself a successful junior golfer, and coach Jason Lopez who has guided several junior teams to the CAJGC. 

Newnham was pleased with what he saw at the trials. "I feel good that everybody had enough good signs this week and we have a few months to prepare. We obviously will know the course very well by the time the champs come around so I am excited for this group and I think it's fair to say that within most if not all the categories we have a chance to do well individually, which if we do well individually that bodes well for the team championship as well." 

Lopez on the other hand was happy with the mix of players at the trials. "We have a nice new crop of guys and girls who are coming up. A lot of young players and exciting players and obviously developing players and you have some guys like Trey (Williams) who have been around for a while. I think overall the kids performed well. I think the conditions were tough which is always good to see the kids tested. Today was not an easier day because there was a lack of wind but we know that come the championship time in July it’s gonna be very windy so it's nice to see those conditions replicated. I think the kids handled it very well." 

According to Alison Reid, the convener for junior golf, the trials is "almost like a test run for the actual event because this is the course they are gonna play in the event and this is pressure condition because they are each trying to make the team so it’s like a mini tournament. It really puts them under the same amount of pressure."

Emily Mayne and Mattea Issa topped their respective age groups as Jamaica enjoyed a good day two at the 34th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship being staged in Puerto Rico on Wednesday.