The highly anticipated and renowned MCOBA-Lindy Delapenha Golf Classic, one of the biggest charity golf tournaments, is set to take place next weekend at the Caymanas Golf & Country Club. Organized by the Munro College Old Boys Association (MCOBA), this event serves as their primary fundraising initiative for the school.

Tournament Manager, Telroy Morgan, elaborated on the allocation of funds raised, emphasizing their impact within the school community. "This annual event commemorates the life and legacy of Lindy Delapenha, an exceptional schoolboy and legendary sportsman in Jamaica. Moreover, it provides us with an opportunity to raise funds that will greatly contribute to the educational, sports, and infrastructural development of Munro College," he stated.

Scheduled to commence on Saturday, July 15th at 8:00 a.m., the tournament will feature a "ShotGun Start," where all golfers will simultaneously tee off from the 18 tee-boxes spread across the golf course. The event will adopt the 7/8th handicap stableford format and offer a range of exciting prizes, including luxurious weekends for two at esteemed hotels on the island's north coast. Competitors will compete in various categories, namely Ladies, Men (up to 50), Men's Senior (50 - 60), and Men's Super Senior.

Nicole Touzalin, the Operating Principal of title sponsors Keller Williams Realty Jamaica, expressed her delight in supporting the event and highlighted the shared values between her company and Munro College. "We are privileged to be a part of this tournament as it perfectly aligns with our core values and vision. At KW, we understand the significance of giving back and strive to positively impact the lives of others. By supporting events like this, we aim to promote an active lifestyle, foster friendly competition, and create networking and connection opportunities," she explained. Touzalin further emphasized that Keller Williams Realty Jamaica's sponsorship represents their commitment to Munro College on behalf of their late founder, Rory Marsh, and the Marsh family.

Victor Tomlinson, President of MCOBA, anticipates the participation of Jamaica's top amateur golfers, both male and female, exceeding 80 participants. He also announced the return of the event highlights, including a luncheon and presentation ceremony following the competition.

Looking back at the 2022 edition, Diane Hudson emerged as the Overall Champion, becoming the first female winner. Regrettably, Hudson will not be available to defend her title this year.

The first-round of the three-day Jamaica Golf Association national junior golf trials took place at the Caymanas Golf Club on Friday.

Ten players in the Girls 18 & under, Boys and Girls 15 & under and Boys and Girls 13 & under age- groups began their journey for a place on Jamaica’s team to the Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship in the Cayman Islands from July 3-8. The Boys 18 & under completed their trials two weeks ago. 

The scores from Friday's action showed some very competitive match-ups.

Emily Mayne and Mattea Issa both scored five over par 77 to be joint leaders in the Girls 18 and under category. They each posted two birdies and seven bogeys on the day. 

Aaron Ghosh and Davin Hogan scored 83 and 98 respectively in the Boys 15 and under age-group while Anoushka Khatri shot 89 and Samantha Azan shot 94 in their respective first-rounds in the Girls 15 & under age-group. 

The three players in the boys 13 & under category, Kemari Morris, Shasha Redfelsen and Cameron Coe, are closely tracking each other after round one with scores of 85, 89 and 91, respectively.

The lone representative in the girls 13 & under category is Alessandra Coe who scored 91 for her first round. 

Second round action begins with all golfers teeing off at 9:00 am on Saturday. 

More than 60 golfers teed-off at the Caymanas Golf Club in St Catherine for the first Jamaica Golf Association's (JGA) qualifier for 2023.

Tee-time was 7:30 am.

A special feature of this year's tournament is that the eight competitors in the Men & Men Senior 0-6 (WAGR) category will play 54 holes over the two days in a bid to gain world amateur golf ranking points.

The Jamaica Golf Association (JGA) got approval last year to play 54 holes over two days instead of the normal three days in order to gain ranking points from the R&A and the USGA (Royal & Ancient Golf Club, Unites States Golf Association).

This will allow them earn ranking points quickly and able to participate in more tournaments across the region and the world that are open to ranked golfers.

Two of the local golfers that have world golf ranking points are Justin Burrowes (347) and William Knibbs (741). Both were invited to play in this year's Latin America Amateur Golf Championships in January as the two highest ranked amateur golfers in Jamaica at the time.

In this weekend’s tournament Burrowes, who is the defending champion, expects to be tested by the format.

"I am looking forward to get going this weekend. I haven't played a 54-hole tournament in two days since this tournament last year so I am looking forward to the test,” he said.

“Expectation-wise I try to keep it very simple. I just want to go out and execute as best as possible and count the scores at the end.  It’s going to be long but I think it provides a good test and it will show me where my game is at and where I need to improve on.

“I feel like I have worked on some of the areas where I have been weak on in the last six months so I am looking forward to put that to the test in a tournament and we will see how that goes."

The other six golfers who will compete in the Men & Men Senior category are Sean Morris, Zandre Roye, Trey Williams, Tenny Davis, Robert Sterling and Wayne Chai-Chong.

Roye and Knibbs placed second and third, respectively, in last year's tournament.

The remainder of the golfers on the course will play 36 holes over the two days.

The will play in several categories including Men & Men Senior 0-6, Men & Men Senior 7-12, Men & Men Senior 13-24, Men Super Senior 0-12, Men Super Senior 13-24, Masters, Junior Boys 18 and Under, Junior Boys 14-15 and Junior Boys 11-13.

Jodie Mun-Barrow is the defending Ladies champion.