Owen Samuda and Jodi Munn-Barrow emerged as champions of the AMG Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament, held at the Caymanas Golf Club in St. Catherine over the weekend. The annual event, one of Jamaica’s most prestigious golf tournaments, saw over 80 golfers competing despite challenges posed by recent weather conditions.

Samuda, who has been enjoying a stellar run of form, dominated the male category with back-to-back rounds of one-under-par 71, finishing with an impressive two-under-par 142. He won by a commanding 13-stroke margin, cementing his reputation as one of the country’s top golfers.

Reflecting on his victory, Samuda shared, “After the disappointment in the Jamaica Open last week, I realized that you can’t drive a car while looking behind you. I came into this tournament with a lot of confidence and positive thoughts. I played really well yesterday, and even better today, so I feel great about the win.”

Samuda’s performance marked the only under-par scores across the tournament. Former national champion Oshae Haye finished second with an 11-over-par 155, while Zandre Roye and Sean Morris tied for third at 14-over-par 158.

In the female category, Jamaica Golf Association President Jodi Munn-Barrow delivered her trademark consistency to claim the Ladies 0-6 title. Munn-Barrow posted scores of 75 on both days, totaling six-over-par 150 to secure her win by a comfortable 21 strokes over Michele McCreath, who finished at 171.

“It was a little more difficult this time,” Munn-Barrow admitted. “I haven’t been playing much because of my involvement with the Jamaica Open, so my game this weekend was scrappy. But I managed to get the ball around, and I’m happy with how I performed despite not being at my best.”

The tournament also featured numerous category winners, including Quentin Hugh-Sam and Philip Gooden, who scored 168 to win the Men & Men Senior 7-12 section. Other winners included Gifford Wilmott (Men & Men Senior 13-24) with a score of 157, and Diane Hudson, who topped the Ladies 13 and over category with a score of 184.

The event, held for the 29th year, is a tribute to seven of Jamaica’s past national golf representatives: Milton "Buddy" Josephs, Izette Rhone, Lenan "Lennie" Chin, John Fulford, Al Chong, Claude Stewart, and Mark Chin. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Lawes Street Trade Training Centre, with the goal of raising JMD$1 million annually.

Peter Chin, president of the Buccaneers Golf Club, praised the event’s resilience despite weather challenges. “This tournament has been running since the 1990s and is the oldest golf tournament outside of the Jamaica Open on the JGA calendar. The course was in great condition considering the rain over the past few weeks,” Chin said.

The AMG Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament was sponsored by AMG Packaging, with Scientific & Medical Supplies as an associate sponsor.

Jamaica’s Ryan Lue posted the lowest score of all the golfers on the Caymanas Golf Course during Wednesday’s first round of the 36^th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship (CAJGC).

He carded an impressive five under par 67 which included six birdies and one bogey. The birdies were on holes six, nine, 10, 14, 15 and 17 while the bogey was on hole number two. 

Lue was happy with his day one score which he said was the result of patience.

“Patience and preparation. I have been preparing and I just stayed patient today so I produced a pretty good score. I just played my game. I didn’t rush anything. Didn’t try to force birdies or make stupid mistakes on the course. I just kept it going. Took my birdies when they came, made a lot of pars and just happy with my result,” he said. 

His nearest rival was Evan Pena of Puerto Rico who was three shots back having score two under par 70. They were the only ones to post under par scores in the found.

The other Jamaicans in the under 18 age group were Aman Dhiman with an even par 72 in third place, followed closely by Trey Williams who was tied for fourth place on one over par 73, as well as Noah Azan 82 in 14^th position and Jerone Thomas 86 in 21^st place.  

Shasa Redlefsen topped the leaderboard in the 11-13 age group after posting seven over par 79 but was just one stroke ahead of Otiz Bayoan of Puerto Rico on 80. Jacob Schnoor occupied the 11^th spot with his 104. 

Jamaica’s two representatives in the 15 and Under category were in 11^th and 15th place respectively. They are Jamal Stewart 84 and Kemari Morris 92. The top three in the category were Kerrington Rolle of the Bahamas 72, Tomas Rodriguez 72 who were tied for first place and Aman Newton 75. 

On the girls’ side, Puerto Rico’s Camila Negroni was leading the 18 and Under category after posting three over par 75 in the round. Mattea Issa was five shots back on eight over par 80 in second place. 

Negroni was pleased with her performance.

“It feels amazing. I hit my irons really good today. I made a lot of fairways. I am looking forward to tomorrow and making a lot of good shots, making a lot of puts and just fixing what I thought could be better today,” she said. 

Jamaica’s lone representative in the 11-13 age group was Alessandra Coe on two strokes off the lead. She ended the round tied for third place with Isabella Ramdeen of Trinidad & Tobago. The leader was Arissa Robinson of the Trinidad & Tobago on 13 over par 85. 

Jamaica does not have any representative in the 15 and Under category, however the top three were Madison Carroll-Carlos of the Bahamas 81, Shania Reyes 83 and Mariella Young 83. 

Jamaica’s coach Jason Lopez assessed the day’s play. 

“There has been some very high level golf. I am very impressed every year. You always see some players that you are obviously familiar with from years gone by and then you see some players you’ve never seen before and you like wow where did this player cone from, which is wonderful because it means that there is talent being developed throughout the region so for me that is a positive,” he said. 

“Myself and Johnny (the other Jamaican coach) couldn’t be more pleased. The message we tried to get across to our team was to unweight themselves cause some times playing at home can be an advantage but also there is a lot of expectation. We saw our team very bubbly, very loose, a lot of smiles, a lot of pep in the step and that’s what we asked for attitude wise,” he added.

Clifton Johnson, Diane Hudson, and George Hugh emerged as the top winners at the 7th MCOBA/Lindy Delapenha Golf Tournament, held at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club recently. The tournament, which saw 88 participants, was marked by excellent weather conditions until the afternoon when rain began to fall, just as most players completed their rounds.

Johnson was crowned the overall winner of the tournament, scoring 44 points in the Stableford format. His victory earned him a weekend stay for two at the Half Moon Hotel and a gift basket from Carimed. Hudson, who won the Women's championship with 38 points, received a weekend stay for two at the Spanish Court Hotel and a gift basket from Carimed. Hugh, the Super Senior Men's champion with 41 points, was awarded a weekend stay for two at Jamaica Inn.

In the Men and Senior Men’s category, Damian Chung took first place with 42 points, followed by Calvery Winn with 41 points, and Paul Authurs with 40 points. In the Super Senior Men's category, Khaleel Azan finished as the runner-up, also with 41 points, and Gord Hutchinson came in third with 39 points. Jennifer Mendes was the runner-up in the Women's category with 37 points, while Maggie Lyn finished third with 30 points. Dane Marsh, with 36 points, was the best-performing Munro Old Boy.

Tournament Manager Telroy Morgan, who also participated in the tournament, described this year's event as the most successful yet. "This is the most successful event to date on several fronts inclusive of the tournament being oversubscribed. Unfortunately, we couldn’t accommodate some of the golfers who tried to register on the day, so it seems like next year we’ll need to stage the event over two days to accommodate all the golfers."

Morgan added, "It was a thrill to participate in the tournament for the first time. The possibility of winning the hole-in-one prize was thrilling, but more so, just being out on the course interacting with fellow golfers enjoying the atmosphere was priceless."

Nevin Nish, Qualified Principal Broker at Keller Williams, the main sponsors of the event, expressed pride in the success of the tournament. "Keller Williams Jamaica is very proud of this year’s staging of the Lindy Delapenha Munro College Golf Classics. As title sponsors, it was so heartwarming to see that we were oversubscribed."

Nish continued, "Even to the end of the tournament, and even as it rained, 90% of the golfers stayed right throughout the ceremony. We had a great time. The boys at Munro College will definitely benefit from all the proceeds because 100% of the proceeds go back to those boys at the institutions which are facing hard times. We are delighted, and we congratulate the organizers as well as the Caymanas Golf Club Team for this year's execution, and we look forward to continued support."

Winsome Gibbs, Branch Manager of CG United Insurance Limited, which sponsored the hole-in-one prize, reflected on the event as a day well spent. "It was an honor for our company, CG United, to participate in such a prestigious event. As a people-first organization, we are always happy to support initiatives that contribute to the growth and development of young people in our communities. The experience of watching each golfer take their shot at the hole-in-one was both exciting and nerve-wracking for me. Ultimately it was a bittersweet feeling at the end of the day but with our golfer’s insurance in place, I knew we were covered."

Both golfers and sponsors are already looking forward to next year's event after enjoying a memorable day of golf and camaraderie.

Zandre Roye enters Sunday’s play in the Jamaica Golf Association's National Amateur Golf Championship with a three-stroke lead following a second round score of 72 for an overall score of 143.

Roye, who opened the championship on Friday at the Caymanas Golf Club in St Catherine with a 71 leads William Knibbs who shot a 72 after an opening round of 74.

Dr. Mark Newnham occupied the third spot after posting scores of 78 and 72 for an overall total of 152, nine strokes off the lead.

The defending champion Oshae Haye was 18 strokes behind the leader after a rough first round of nine over par 81 and eight over par 80 in the second round for a combined total of 161.

In the Men Super Senior Category, Robert Chin was the sole leader with scores of 80 and 78 for 158 overall. He sits four strokes ahead of his brother and former Jamaica Golf Association president Peter Chin, who has an overall score of 162 on the back of 85 in round one and 77 on Saturday.

Radcliff Knibbs and Dorrel Allen were joint third on 163 each.

Sunday starts with 7:00 am tee time.

The top three golfers - Roye, Knibbs and Dr. Newnham will tee off at 9:20 am.

Rocco Lopez and Aman Dhiman are joint leaders in the Boys 18 and Under category of the Jamaica Golf Association' junior trials at the end of the first day at the Caymanas Golf Club in St. Catherine on Friday.

Both golfers posted scores of two over par 74 but in contrasting fashion. Lopez, who is in his final year as a junior player, carded a birdie and two bogeys resulting in one over par 37 on the front and back nine. Dhiman, at 17, has another year as a junior. He shot three birdies and five bogeys and also posted one over par 37 on his front and back nines, respectively.

The next three golfers – Ryan Lue, Tenny Davis and Jerone Thomas -are tied for third on 10 over par 82s, eight shots behind the joint leaders.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Noah Azan, scored 15 over par 87. Trey Williams, 16, who made the team in 2019, was just one stroke back on 16 over par 88.

Joshua Melville had a rough day on the course, scoring 45 over par 117 and is not likely to recover enough to get one of the four available spots on the team.

Vying to represent Jamaica in the upcoming Caribbean Junior Amateur Golf Championship in the Cayman Islands between July 3-8, the young golfers will tee off on Saturday at 9:00 am for the second of three rounds in the trials in the hot, windy conditions at the Caymanas Golf Course.

This year's junior trials are being conducted in two separate sessions.

The Boys 18 & Under will run from Friday, March 10 to Sunday, March 12 while the other age groups will take to the same course from March 24-26. This is due to the availability of the players as most of them are at school overseas.

Justin Burrowes and Jodi Munn-Barrow successfully defended their titles at the Caymanas Golf Classic at the Caymanas Golf Course in St. Catherine this past weekend.

Playing 54 holes in a specially approved format over the two days shot scores of 69 and 71. He then shot a 72 for an overall three-round score of 212 for a commanding win by 18 strokes ahead of runner-up William Knibbs.

Meanwhile, in the Ladies 0-6 section, Munn-Barrow played 36 holes over the same period, scoring 76 and 74 for a total of 150.

Burrowes carded 11 birdies and an eagle on the first hole of the third round but it also shot nine bogeys two of which came on the final two holes of the tournament.

"It was certainly a test of fitness. It was long. It was very long. I think yesterday it was seven hours,” Burrowes said.

“Today (Sunday) it was something up there again so it was a test of patience (and) fitness. It was very hot, very windy. The course was playing very difficult because it was so firm. I tried to play every shot to the best of my ability and it worked out in the end."

He endorsed the format which is designed help to help the local golfers to gain world raking points as more local WAGR tournaments are played locally.

Knibbs shot scores of 79, 79 and par 72 for a combined score of 230 and finished two shots ahead of Sean Morris. Zandre Roye (239) and Wayne Chai Chong 240 rounded out the top five.

Among the ladies, Diane Hudson 180 (92, 88) took the Ladies 13 and over category ahead of Susan White 203 (100, 103).

William Lee was the only golfer in the Men & Men Senior 0-6 category. He carded 79 and 80 for 15 over par 159.

Bruce Levy 167 (85, 82) topped the Men & Men Senior 7-12 section and was one shot ahead of second place Spencer Chung 168 (77, 91) while Nigel Davey 181 (88, 93) placed third.

The top three in the Men & Men Senior 13-24 were Damion Anderson 189, Aubyn Ferguson 192 and Courtney Cephas who also posted 192.

Mike Boyd 148 (77, 71) won the Men Super Senior 0-12 category by five strokes ahead of Mike Gleichman 153 (87, 75) while Robert Chin 154 (79,75) was third.

George Wright (191) copped the Men Super Senior 12-24 category while Linval Green 208 was second.

Dave Lyn 164 and Philip Wilson 168 were first and second in the Masters category.

Jerome Thomas (182) was first in the Boys 18 and Under section while Canada’s Davin Hogan won the Boys 14-15 age group. The Boys 11-13 section went to Kemari Morris 171 ahead of Cameron Coe 193.

The team of Dr Mark Newnham and Michael Gleichman stood atop the leaderboard at the end of the second day of the CAGC Four-Ball Championship trials at the Caymanas Golf Club on Saturday.

Of the five teams attempting to qualify to represent the country in the Francis & Steele Perkins Trophy, the leading pair scored that scored a one-under-par 71 during Friday’s first round play shot a five-under-par 65 on Saturday for a two-day total of 136.

The team of Owen Samuda and Philip Prendergast, who carded a 73 on Saturday for a total of 146, trail the lead pair.  Seven strokes further behind were William Lee and Philip Gooden, whose 75 on Saturday for an overall score of 157.

Meanwhile, the pair of Sean Morris and Delroy Johnson seeking to qualify for Ramon Baez Cup, shot a 69 on Saturday to improve on their opening round score of 75.

Eight teams turned up to the trials for the qualifying spot in the Higgs & Higgs Cup. At the end of play on Saturday, three teams were locked on identical scores of 145.

Michael Boyd and Bert Tomlinson, the early leaders at the end of play Friday with 69 followed up with a 74. The tight competition continued with former JGA president Wayne Chai-Chong and Rory Jardine joining forces to post scores of 71 and 74 to share the lead.

Team Dorrel Allen and Robert Chin scored 72 and 73 on Friday and Saturday, respectively, totalling 145 over the two days.

According to the USGA’s (US Golf Association) Rules of Golf, four-ball stroke play is a competition in which two competitors play as partners, each playing his own ball. The lower score of the partners is the score for the hole.

Sunday's third and final day of competition teed off at 7:30 am.

The trials will be used to select the team for Jamaica's defence of the Ambrose Gouthro Trophy which it first won in 2019 in Florida.  There was no competition in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Justin Burrowes held off the challenge of 15 other golfers including to win the Men & Men Senior 0-6 category by 11 strokes at the Caymanas Golf Classic on Sunday.

Burrowes posted seven-under-par 209 for the tournament after opening with a 75 but then carded back-to-back 67s to take the victory.

Zandre Roye shot scores of 69, 77, 74 for an overall score of 220 that saw him finish in second place. Meanwhile, 15-year old Ryan Lue 226 (79, 71, 76) and William Knibbs 226 (71, 76, 79) were tied for third and Sean Morris 230 (75, 79, 76) finished fourth.

The winner said afterwards that he enjoyed getting the victory but it was not easy.

“It was good. It was definitely a very long two days. It didn't really feel like two days, it felt like a whole week but it’s golf and I love playing golf so it’s not that bad,” Burrowes said afterwards.

“It definitely is tough walking 27 holes in one day but I just tried to enjoy it as best as possible. The first 18 holes, I did not play as well as I wanted to. I hit a lot of good shots but I didn't quite just get it done and after the first 18, I kind of just got it together."

Orville Christie emerged the winner among the professionals. He shot an overall score of 230 to finish ahead of Sean Green and Alan Graham, respectively. Christie shot 72 in his opening round and followed up with 79 in each of the final two rounds. Green, meanwhile, shot scores of 82, 78 and 78 for 238 while Graham shot 247 (84, 79, 84).

Like Burrowes, Christie said the tournament was challenging.

 “! have not been in any shape recently to be playing on a golf course like this but I should say it was pretty much okay but not very good,” he said.

“It’s really tiring because this golf course is very hilly and also it’s very humid and hot so I had to keep rehydrating myself, not happy with the score but I am happy with the win," he said.

Jodi Munn Barrow won the Ladies’ 36-hole tournament carding 75 and 80 for a total score of 11 over par 155.

“Saturday was very good. I was very pleased with Saturday. Today was a little bit scrappy. I think maybe with everything going on I got a little bit distracted today but its a work in progress so I will keep working at it and look forward to the next event," she said.

As president of the golf association, Munn-Barrow said she was pleased with the turnout.

“Our first tournament for the year, we had a very good turnout for the two days, over 70 participants so we are very pleased with that,” he said.

“The twist is that we now have our 0-6 category, which is our elite amateur golfers playing for world amateur ranking points so we have gotten all of our tournaments approved by the body and so when our amateurs play they can get world amateur points and this augurs well because we can then possibly field a team to the world amateur team championships which you can't do if you don't have people who are ranked in the system, so all events for the 0-6 will now play over 54 holes, either three days or over 27 holes each day on a weekend depending on whether the golf course will accommodate us.

 "We are actually in discussion with the Jamaica professional golf association to include the professionals when we have our events so that they too can get more practice and that will help then to augur well going into the Jamaica Open at the end of the year."

The top players in the other categories were Men 0-6 Blue tees - Narada Black 151 (72, 79) and William Lee 159 (83, 76).

Men & Men Senior 7-12 - Quentin Hugh Sam 165 (84, 81); William Mahfood (166 (82, 84) and Philip Gooden 167 (85, 82).

Men & Men Senior 13-24 - Courtney Cephas 195 (95, 100), Delroy Anderson 196 (103, 93), Aubyn Ferguson 198 (102, 96).

Men Super Senior - 151 (74, 77), Wayne Chai Chong 153 (75, 78) and Mike Boyd 158 (83, 76). Ladies 13-24 - Diane Hudson 186 (94, 92), Deborah Newnham 197 (103, 94) and Krystal Chung (214 (109, 105).

Junior Boys 14-15 - Lek Drummond 181 (91, 90); Junior Boys 11-13 - Shasa Redlefsen 185 (93, 92), Kemari Morris 186 (95, 91) and Cameron Coe 204 (103, 101).

Junior Girls 14-15 - Mia Cunningham 191 (88, 103) and Anoushka Katri 192 (98, 94) and the Junior Girls 11-13 - Alessandra Coe 215 (108, 107).

Justin Burrowes won the Alliance National Amateur Golf Championship at the Caymanas Golf Club by a massive 20 strokes to claim his second title in three years.

 Burrowes led on all four days of the championship but Sunday's round was his most impressive.

He shot seven birdies and just one bogey in his final round 66 for a four-day today of 278.

He had birdies on holes 2 and 6 and a bogey on five for a one-under-par 35 on the front nine but saved his best for last with birdies on 10, 12, 13,14 and 17 on the back nine for five-under-par 31 to close the round.

Overall, his scores on each of the four days were 73, 69, 70 and 66 to be 10 under for the tournament.

"Today (Sunday) was a great day.  I felt like I was able to put everything together for once in the past four days.  I drove it well, hit it well, putt it well and made a lot of crucial putts especially coming down the stretch,” he said.

“That was the only real difference between today and the other days.  I just want to thank my coach, parents and all my supporters because without them this would not be possible."

By contrast, William Knibbs, the 2020 national champion, had a rough championship, posting scores of 74, 79, 70 and 75 for a combined total of 10 over par 298.  He was hurt, particularly, by his second-day performance on hole number 10 at he which required six extra shots on a par-four hole.

“Where the performance this week in the tournament is concerned, whilst there were lots of good moments in the tournament, I made a lot of mistakes that had I been at my best I know I would have avoided them,” he said.

“Hats off to Justin, he played really, really well.  I just would have liked to have been closer to him coming into the last day but I do take some pride in knowing that I finished runner-up in this event four of the last five years so there are always positives and negatives."

Zandre Roye scored 70 on the final day for a total score of 303 to claim third.  He had scores of 76, 82, and 75 for the first three days.

Mention must be made of 15-year old Aman Dhiman, who posted the second-lowest score of the championship, a four-under-par 68 on the third day as well as the best score for that particular day.  He sent down five birdies on holes 1, 2, 4, 7 and 16 and only one bogey on hole number 10.

The top two in the Men Senior 7-12 category were Thajae Richards who had a total of 337 and Richard White, 370.

The Men Senior 0-12 category, which was played over three days, was shared by former Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron (245) and Tony Allison 83 (245) while Vikram Dhuman 78 (245) was third.

The Men Super Senior 0-12 category, also played over three days, was topped by Mike Boyd (235), while George Hugh (240) former JGA president Wayne Chai Chong (240) were tied for second.

 The Men Super Senior 13 and over had one participant, Desmond Brown, who had a three-day total of 282.

Justin Burrowes extended his lead to 11 strokes on day three of the Alliance National Amateur Golf Championship on Saturday at the Caymanas Golf Club. He shot two under par 70 for a three-day total of 212 (73, 69, 70) and is poised to secure victory when play resumes at 7:30 today.

“Today (Saturday) was another pretty good day. (I) gave myself a lot of opportunities, which is really what I set out to do.  It didn't convert as much as I would have liked but still, all in all, I would say a lot more positives than negatives today,” said Burrowes, who started the day with a birdie and followed up with three more on holes 11, 12 and 15 while posting two bogeys on holes 14 and 18.

“In a good place to build on.  The course was definitely more inviting today with the softer conditions - no wind and no rain.  It was definitely more inviting. I played solid but I didn't hold enough putts today to go really deep so hopefully, I can build on today and do that tomorrow (Sunday)."

Meanwhile, defending champion William Knibbs posted his first under-par score of 70 but is still 11 strokes off the lead.  He has a combined score of 223 after posting 74 and 79 on days one and two, respectively.

 He expressed satisfaction with the round especially after day two, saying "After yesterday (Friday), I would say that it could have only gotten better today (Saturday) and obviously it was better. Two under but as with most of what I have done this week there were always shots that I felt that I could have done better with or putts that I could have made but I am just happy to have bounced back today."

 His scorecard showed one eagle, three birdies and three bogeys.

Dr Mark Newnham, who was in second place on day two, dropped to third after scoring six over par 78 for a three-day total of 228.

Mention must be made of 15-year old Aman Dhiman, who posted the lowest score of the championship so far, a four-under-par 68.  He sunk five birdies on holes 1, 2, 4, 7 and 16 before bogeying the 10^th hole.

The perennial ladies’ national champion Jodi Munn-Barrow, who led from day one is again the national champion.  The female championships ran over three days and she posted scores of 72, 77 and 74 for a total of 223 to be leagues ahead of second-place Samantha Azan who shot 82 on the final day for a total score of 251.  Third place went to Winni Lau.  She shot 91 for an overall score of 271.

 "Happy with my overall performance today (Saturday). (I) was able to focus and just play the holes as they came, played a shot at a time and happy to finish with two over,” she said.

“Seven over for the three days so I am pleased with the overall performance and happy once again I was able to become the national amateur champion."

The Ladies 13 - 24 category went to Valerie Grant 102 (308) followed by Suzan White 108 (324).

The Men 7-12 category had two golfers with scores of 86 for Thajae Richards for a total of 252 and who still leads Richard White, who shot 89 and now totals 279.

There is a new leader in the Men Senior 0-12 category with former Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron 81 (245), ahead of Tony Allison 83 (245) in second and Vikram Dhuman 78 (245) in third.

The Men Super Senior 0-12 also has a new leader in Mike Boyd 74 (235), followed by George Hugh with an 82 (240) and the day-one leader, former JGA president Wayne Chai Chong shot 81 (240).

The final male category - Men Super Senior 13 and over, with one occupant - Desmond Brown scored 93 for a three-day total of 282.

The juniors who competed over two days which ended on Saturday saw Sebastian Azan copping the Boys 14-15 category with scores of 78 and 81 for a combined score of 159.  Ryan Lue took second spot after posting 82 and 79 (161) while Trey Williams was third 87, 79, (161).

Michael Lowe topped the Boys 16-17 category.  He had scores of 85 and 87 (172).  Zaniel Knight was second with scores of 91 and 89 (180) while Justin Wainwright 116 and 124 (240) was third.

Justin Burrowes overcame three bogeys to shoot a one-over-par 73 and assume the early lead at the Alliance National Golf Championships at the Caymanas Golf Club on Thursday.

Burrowes also had three birdies and an eagle on the day that gave him a one-shot lead over William Knibbs. Owen Samuda had a 75 while Zandre Roye shot a 76 to be tied with Mark Newnham. Sean Morris and Shamar Wilson are both tied on 78.

Burrowes said he was happy with his first-round score even though he bogeyed the last two holes to end the round a stroke above par.

"Today was pretty good.  I knew that I had to post a good number to keep myself in the tournament which I felt like I did today,” he said.

“Didn't putt as well as I wanted to but there are still a lot of positives to build on going into the next three days.  I feel like I played well and there is a lot to build on and with the conditions being tough, it's always good to hit the ball well which I feel like I did today and I look forward to the next couple of days."

Meanwhile, many-time women’s champion Jodi Munn-Barrow led juniors Samantha Azan and Winni Lau with an even-par 72.  She was also pleased with the day's play.

"(I am) very happy with today's round, didn't make a lot of mistakes which was good because the course was playing very tough.  Conditions were hard, so overall happy, still have two more days to go so I have to focus on day two and day three so and hopefully the outcome will be good," she said.

In the Ladies 13 - 24 category, Valerie Grant had a score of 101 while Suzan White shot 106.

In the Men Senior 0-12 category, Vikram Dhuman leads with an 80 and is followed by Tony Allison (82), Nigel Davy (84) and Dave Cameron (87).

In the Men 7-12, Thajae Richards shot 88 while Richard White had 97.

The Men Super Senior 0-12 is led by former JGA president Wayne Chai Chong (79) and is followed by Teddy Alexander (80), Robert Chin (81), Stephen Chang (81) and Bert Tomlinson (82).

 Desmond Brown scored a 97.

The golfers will take to the Caymanas Golf Course at 7:30 am today for the second day of the championship.