Jamaica's Owen Samuda made a triumphant return to competitive golf, clinching the Brooklyn Open title at the Marine Park Golf Course in Brooklyn, USA. After an eight-year hiatus from the event, Samuda won the championship division with a stellar performance, shooting a four-under-par 68 on the par-72 course. His victory came by the narrowest of margins, finishing just one stroke ahead of Gabe Lee, who shot a 69. Andrew Giuliani and fellow Jamaican Luke Watson both tied for third, with scores of one-under-par 71.

The championship division featured 29 highly competitive players, including professional golfers like 40-year-old Gabe Lee, a Korean golfer based in Queens, and 38-year-old Andrew Giuliani, a former professional who competed for seven years.

Samuda, at 54 years old, is a caddy at Pine Valley Golf Course in New Jersey, a course often ranked among the best in the world. Reflecting on his victory, Samuda expressed his joy, especially after such a long break from the tournament.

“It’s been about eight years since I last played the Brooklyn Open,” Samuda shared. “When I heard about the tournament, I decided to enter and played a practice round just to get familiar with the course again. The day before the tournament, it rained heavily for two days, so the course was soft, but in great condition. The greens were rolling fast, so controlling the speed of my putts was crucial."

He added that his strong start on the front nine helped him maintain momentum. "By the 13th hole, I was five under par but made bogeys on holes eight and nine before birdying hole ten to finish at four under. I started on hole twelve because of the shotgun start and finished on hole eleven. I didn’t realize how close the competition was, so winning by one stroke was a great surprise. It feels amazing to win the Brooklyn Open for the first time.”

Jamaica began its defence of the Caribbean Golf Association's (CGA) Four-Ball Championship by ending Tuesday’s opening day atop the leaderboard in three of the five team categories.

The three-day, the five-country championship is being played in Florida at the Golden Palm Golf Course with  Jamaica is gunning for its third consecutive win after copping the country trophy, the Ambrose Gouthro Cup in 2019 and 2021.

 There was no championship in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The team of Jodi Munn-Barrow and Lisa Gardner who are defending the Maria Nunes Trophy led the Ladies 35 and Over category with a seven over-par 78. They are three shots ahead of Puerto Rico’s team of Mara Pagan and Rebekah Alford who 81.

Meanwhile, Maggie Lyn and Michelle McCreath have it all to play for as the only team vying for the Desire Henry Trophy.  They posted a first-round score of 84 in the category for Ladies 50 and over.

On the men's side, the team of Philip Prendergast and Owen Samuda led their group in defence of the Ramon Baez Romano Trophy (for men 35 and over).  They carded 73 in the opening round and were trailed by Lynford Miller and Ashley Glinton of the Bahamas who shot 75.

The Higgs & Higgs Cup for Men 60 and over, saw Joe Delfillipo and Roger Hanson of the Cayman Islands, and Fernando Diaz and Arturo Morales of Puerto Rico tied up for the lead.

Wayne Chai Chong and Rory Jardine are tied for second along with three other teams after posting four over par 75 for the round.

Robert Chin and Dorrel Allen were one stroke back on five over par 75 in seventh place.

 The third local team in the category, Peter Chin and George Hugh, were nine over for a score of 80 and ninth place.

In the play for the Francis Steel Perkins Trophy, two of the three Jamaican teams are in joint fifth place.  Dr Mark Newnhan and Michael Gliechman, and Metry Seaga and Dave Cameron both posted six over par 77 at the end of round one.

The other team of William 'Tommy' Lee and Carlyle Hudson were just one stroke back in seventh place after scoring seven over par 78.

Bahamian pair Peter McIntosh and Horace Miller posted 72 to lead the group at the end of day one.

"(The) course was long, especially for the ladies,” Jonathan Newnham said afterwards.

“Overall, we had a few tough holes that we compounded with errors but (we are) proud of the fight throughout.  (We) kept ourselves in it with each category with two days to go."

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.

Sebert Walker Jr. dropped six shots by the end of the third day of the Jamaica Golf Association's National Senior Trials at the Half Moon Golf Course in St. James but still enjoys a sizeable buffer over the rest of the field.