Jamaica's Oshae Haye and Zandre Roye found the going tough in the opening round of the ninth Latin America Amateur Championship and were hoping to play catch up in the second round of action in Panama.

With some 108 golfers from Latin America and the Caribbean parading their skills at the Santa Maria Golf Club, Roye and Haye are faced with a daunting task of ascending up the order from seven over par 77 and nine over par 79 respectively. Both are now in danger of not making the cut, as the cut line will be announced at the end of the second round.

Oral Morales and Santiago De la Fuente, both of Mexico, and Guatemala's Jose Arzu of Guatemala, all locked on one under par 69 at the top of the standing.

Roye, who started out well and was in 17th position at one point, had some issues as he approached the end of the round, which resulted in a slip down the leaderboard.

"Day one completed. I shot a 77 today with a bogey and a triple bogey on the last two holes. Not the ideal finish, very bad finish, but all in all, I really hit the ball today. Hit a lot of greens, made a lot of putts. In a positive trend going into tomorrow, I think we can better that score tomorrow definitely," Roye said.

Both golfers are representing Jamaica at the championship for the first time. Justin Burrowes, who turned pro late last year, and William Knibbs have represented Jamaica in recent times.

Other representatives include Ian Facey, who is also now among the professional ranks, as well as Sean Morris and Jonathan Newnham. The island’s best placed golfer in the championship to date is Facey, who tied for 24th position in 2015 with a best round of 68 on the first day.

Expectations are high as Jamaican golfers Oshae Haye and Zandre Roye departed the island for the ninth edition of the Latin America Amateur Championship.

Thought it will be their first time at the event, both Haye and Roye boast a wealth of experience competing in local and regional tournaments and, as such, is banking on their potential to represent Jamaica well at the January 18-21 Championship in Panama.

Haye, a former national golf champion expressed excitement at the opportunity, which he is hoping to capitalise on.

"I really and truly was very, very excited after I heard that I am in. Thanks to Mr. Johan Campbell, he is the one who have us playing all the courses around the island, so we work pretty hard on the game headed in for this tournament. My main (intention) is to make that cut and then we take it step by step from there," Haye said.

For Roye, who has won numerous golf tournaments locally, including the Heroes Golf Classic, described the opportunity as an honour.

"It's an honour to represent the country in this championship. It has been a long way coming. I have been working really hard on the game and to get this opportunity, it really means a lot. I couldn't ask for a better person to be on this trip with me, my best friend Oshae Haye, to be leaving the country right now to play in one of the biggest amateur tournaments in this part of the world is 'goose bump' moment," he shared.

As it relates to the level of competition expected, Roye believes he is just as capable as his opponents.

"My game is there. I hit the ball just as well as any of those guys over there. It's all about putting the four rounds together and see where it ends up at the end of the week," he declared.

Meanwhile, Jodi Munn-Barrow, president of the Jamaica Golf Association is expecting both golfers to give a good account of themselves.

"The Jamaica Golf Association is very proud to have Zandre Roye and Oshae Haye represent us at the LAAC this coming week. Zandre and Oshae have been playing in regional events and they have garnered a lot of experience which I am sure will augur well for them as they face new challenges at this prestigious event," she said.

American Andrew Arft led all three days to capture the 56th Jamaica Open Golf Championship at the Tryall Golf Course in Hanover.

Arft posted scores of six under par 66, even par 72, and one under par 71, for a combined score of seven under par 209. He expressed pleasure with the win while giving credit to his caddy Jason Richards for helping him to win the event on his first attempt.

He also pointed out that his late decision to enter the championship was justified, as he pocketed the US$20,000 top prize.

Second place went to Dominic Piccirillo, who was just one shot back on 210. He posted under par scores of 71, 71 and 68 for all three days, while Josh Anderson was relegated to third place on 211 along with Blake Wagoner (72,70, 69).

The top six golfers in the professional category are all Americans.

Jamaica's Sean Morris roared back from second place on the second day to take the amateur section ahead of Oshae Haye. They were joint leaders on the first day.

Morris ended on 17 over par 233 (75, 82, 76), while Haye was two strokes back on 235 (75, 78, 82). Junior player Trey Williams grabbed third place on 245 (78, 81, 82).

Chris Richards of Trinidad & Tobago won the Senior Pro section for the second year running with a total score of two over par 218 (70, 76, 72). Second went to Canada's Kent Fukushima on 222 (74, 78, 70), while Jamaica's Ian Campbell was third on 240 (80, 79, 81).

The final category, the Senior Amateur section went to Canada's Robert Sterling who had a combined score of 244 for the three days. Jamaica's Dr. Mark Newnham and Dr. William Lee were second and third with scores of 245 and 250, respectively.

The day-two leaders in the four categories of the 56th Jamaica Open Golf Championship are from four different countries, making it truly an international tournament. The open is being played at the Tryall Golf Club which is just a short distance from the Grand Palladium Hotel in Hanover, the official hotel and sponsor of the championship.

American pro golfer Andrew Arft maintained his leading position after scoring an even par 72 for a two-day score of six under par 138. His lead was however cut to two from six on the first day by countryman Ryan Sullivan, who posted the lowest score on the second day. 

Sullivan scored a six under par 66 for a combined score of 140.

Jamaica's Oshae Haye took over the lead for the amateur section from Sean Morris. His two-day total of 157 came on the back of 75 and 82, on day one and two respectively. Morris was four strokes back on 153.

Trinidad and Tobago's Chris Richards took his day one lead into day two, for a combined total of 146, after posting two under par 70 on the first day, and four over par 76 on the second day, in the Senior Professional category. Canada's Kent Fukushima was in second place on 152.

The final section, for Senior Amateurs showed Canada's Robert Sterling in the lead. His two-day total of 161 came on the back of 12 over par 84 on day one and five over par 77 on day two. Jamaica's Dr. Mark Newnham was in second place on 164 (88 and 76).

The last group of the day all birdied hole number 18 to the delight of the gallery who appreciated the display. The group members were Andrew Arft, Josh Anderson and Chris Richards.

 Zandre Roye and Jodi Munn-Barrow topped the Jamaica Golf Association's (JGA) Easter Jamboree golf tournament held last weekend at the Upton Estate Golf & Country Club in St. Ann.

 Roye won by six strokes over the reigning national amateur golf champion Oshae Haye while Munn-Barrow was the only female player in the Ladies 0-12 handicap category.

Roye shot scores of 69 and 73 over the two days for an even-par score of 142.

"The game plan for the week was just to manage the game as best as possible, try to keep big numbers off the card, hit as much greens in regulation as possible and I think I did that the first day pretty well,” he said.

“(I) didn't putt as how I wanted on the first day but I hit 15 of 18 greens, shot two under par. I had a six-shot lead going into the second day so it was all about maintaining that lead, try and minimize the mistakes and just execute the game plan as best as I could, and the last few holes coming in I think I really did that."

Haye, meanwhile, scored 75 and 73 for an overall score of 148 for second place while William Knibbs finished one stroke back on 149 (79, 70) in third place.

Munn-Barrow posted 155 over the two days on the back of 80 and 75, respectively.

Six women completed the tournament in the 13+ handicap section with Alison Reid winning after posting an overall score of 193, seven strokes ahead of second place Diane Hudson (200) and Valerie Grant (201) who was third.

Tenny Davis - 155, Giovanni Blair - 164 and Richard White - 175 were the top three in the Men & Men Senior 7-12 section.

The Men Super Senior 0-12 went to Mike Gleichman who scored nine over par 151. He won by four strokes ahead of Wayne Chai Chong who shot 155. Dorrel Allen was third with 158.

Philip Wilson (154) won the Masters section ahead of George Watt who had a combined 173 over the period. The juniors who completed the tournament were Boys 18 & U Jerone Thomas - 178 and Jamal Stewart - 192 who competed in the Boys 14-15 category.

More than 60 golfers will tee off on Saturday in the Jamaica Golf Association's two-day Easter Jamboree at the Upton Estates Golf and Country Club in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

National amateur golf champion Oshae Haye leads a strong field of local golfers who will journey to his home course in St. Ann for the event. Three former national champions - William Knibbs, Zandre Roye and Dr. Mark Newnham – are expected to challenge Haye for top honours.  

"It is one of our qualifying events where participants get points towards the order of merit which allows them to try out for a national team. We are looking forward to an exciting weekend of golf" said Jamaica Golf Association President Jodi Munn-Barrow, who will be the sole representative in the Ladies 0-6 category.

Seven other women will play in the 13 and over handicap category.

The biggest category of golfers will compete in the Men Super Seniors 0-12 section which has 19 competitors including Peter Chin and Wayne Chai Chong as well as national representatives Teddy Alexander, Metry Seaga and Mike Gleichman.

Four men will play in the Masters.

There will also be several junior players in the 18 and Under, 14-15 and 11-13 age groups, who will be looking to sharpen their skills for the Caribbean Junior Amateur Golf Championship scheduled for July in the Cayman Islands.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Christopher Richards Jr is atop the leaderboard after shooting a 74 for a combined score of 147 at the end of the second round of the Trinidad and Tobago Open at the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort on Friday.

Meanwhile, Wayne Baptiste also of Trinidad & Tobago leads the Men’s Senior Category with scores of 78 and 79 for a score of 157.

Jamaica’s amateur golf champion Oshae Haye was the best of four Jamaicans having shot a five-over-par 77 for a two-day total of 162 to be tied in 14^th spot. He rose from 23^rd after shooting 13 over par 85 on the opening day.

Haye was 15 shots behind Richards.

The other Jamaican in the championship category, Zandre Roye carded 11 over par 83 in the second round on top of 80 in round one for a total score of 163 after two rounds, and sits in 17th place along with three other golfers.

Among the seniors, Dr. Mark Newnham is second after his second-round score of 78, an improvement on the 81 he shot on opening day.

Cameron remained his eighth place with scores of 91 and 93 for a combined total of 184.

Oshae Haye and Jodi Munn-Barrow headed into Monday’s final day the leaders of the three-day Jamaica Golf Association's National Amateur Golf Championship being played at the Sandals Golf & Country Club in St. Ann.