Jamaica's William Knibbs made the cut at the 8th Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) (golf) on Friday at the Grand Reserve Golf Course in Puerto Rico.  The island's other representative, Justin Burrowes missed the cut.

Knibbs' first round one over par 73 at the end of the first day, had him poised to make the cut if he could maintain that score or do better. At that point he was tied for 47th place along with several other golfers. He posted a solid two over par 74 during Friday's second round for a two-day total of three over par 147 and tied for 49th place with five others, and importantly made the cut.

"I just made the cut which is amazing. That was my goal coming into this event.  Its my third LAAC and I had never made a cut so that was my big goal heading into this week, just to make the cut. Now that I have made the cut I won't settle on that. I am gonna try to play as well as I can moving forward but it feels great accomplishing a major milestone. It was kinda nerve wracking for the whole day seeing my name hovering on the leaderboard in or just out by one and eventually it got kinda discouraging towards end because my name was the first name after the projected cut, so yea I am looking to tomorrow and Sunday" said Knibbs.

The cut line was set at three over par or the top 50 golfers at the end of the second round.  The golfers who made the cut will compete for another two rounds to determine the overall winner.

Burrowes who is competing in the LAAC for the fourth time posted five over par 77 for the first round and placed 84th. He posted another five over par 77 on the second day for a two-day total of 10 over par 154 meant that he missed the cut line for the first time.

He said "disappointing last couple of days. Its unfortunate to miss the cut, unfortunate not to play well but its part of the game. One thing for sure about this week is that it exposed my weaknesses, the weak areas of my game. More than anything else I am just excited to get back to work. I think today was certainly more positive overall. I felt like I managed myself better even though the score didn't quite reflect it.  There were some small wins out there."

Louis Carrera of Mexico topped the leaderboard at the end of the second round after posting 10 under par 134 with scores of five under par 67 on each of the first two days. The first day leader, Mateo Fuenmayor of Colombia ended the second round tied for 25th place with five others after posting five over par 77, with a two-day total of one under par 143 (66, 77).

Defending champion Aaron Jarvis of the Cayman Islands is currently tied in the 14th position with 9 others with a score of two under par 142. He shot par 72 and two under par 70 on the first and second day respectively.

Jamaica's William Knibbs and Justin Burrows battled the elements in the first round of the 8th Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) (golf) on Thursday at the par 72 Grand Reserve Golf Course in Puerto Rico for contrasting results on the day.

Knibbs' one over par 73 is his best ever single round score in the LAAC on this his third time competing in the championship.  His first round score puts him at 48 along with seven other golfers. 

According to Knibbs, "today I shot 73 which I think is the best score I have shot in all of my rounds in LAAC so far. The conditions weren't overly tough but they weren't super easy at the same time. I gave myself a lot of good opportunities today, didn't capitalize on all of them (but) didn't really make many mistakes. I put a decent score together today so hopefully I am out a little earlier tomorrow so hopefully there won't be too much breeze and I can take it low."

He is on track to make the cut for the first time.  The cut will be mad at number 50 at the end of the second round on Friday. 

Burrowes who is competing in the LAAC for the fourth time and made the cut on his three previous appearances closed the first round in the 84th position along with eight other golfers.  He posted five over par 77 for the round after a very good front nine one under pa 35.

"Today was bit interesting.  (I) started off really well which I usually start off a little slow and then flow into the round but it was the opposite today, I started really hot I had two birdies to start on my first two holes. I kinda had something going on the front nine and just kinda hit a wall on the back nine mentally. I feel like I still have a game there even though on the leaderboard I am way down at the moment, there is nothing that a really good score tomorrow can't fix" said Burrowes.

Defending champion, nineteen year old Aaron Jarvis of the Cayman Islands shot even par 72 and is currently tied on 30th position with 17 others.

The sole leader is Mateo Fuenmayor of Colombia after shooting six under par 66.

The championships features one hundred eight golfers from the Latin American and the Caribbean. Host country Puerto Rico will have nine golfers on the course, as per the tournament rules. There is a cut line of the top fifty golfers at the end of the second day. Some of the competing countries are Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Barbados, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Haiti, , Trinidad & Tobago, Panama, Venezuela and Jamaica. Jamaica has been participating in the championships since it started in 2015.

Justin Burrowes and William Knibbs will represent Jamaica at the 8th Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) (golf) between Thursday January 12 to 15, in Puerto Rico at the par 72 Grand Reserve Golf Course.  They wrapped up their practice rounds on Wednesday.

They were invited by the LAAC executive committee on behalf of the Masters Tournament, The R&A, and the United States Golf Association (USGA), based on their position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking^TM.. Burrowes is ranked at 973 while Knibbs is ranked at 979.

Burrowes will be competing in the championship for the fourth time while Knibbs will be making his third trip to the event.

Burrowes’ best performance to date was 2022 when he was tied for 34th place with a combined four-day score of 10 over par 298.

Knibbs who is yet to make the cut hopes to do so this time around, on his third time competing in the championship.

Jamaica has been participating in the championships since it started in 2015. It has always sent two representatives to the championship. These include Ian Facey who is now a professional golfer, Sean Morris and Jonathan Newnham. The island’s best placed golfer in the tournament to date is Facey who tied for 24th in 2015 with a best round of 68 on the first day and a four-day total of 4 over par 292.

Defending champion, nineteen year old Aaron Jarvis of the Cayman Islands shot seven under par 281 for the win in 2022.  He will be on the course again to try to pull off another win.

The championships will feature one hundred eight golfers from the Latin American and the Caribbean. Host country Puerto Rico will have nine golfers on the course, as per the tournament rules. There is a cut line of the top fifty golfers at the end of the second day. Some of the competing countries are Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Barbados, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Haiti, , Trinidad & Tobago, Panama, Venezuela and Jamaica.