Puerto Rico finished tops at the recently-concluded 36th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship (CAJGC), as they won five of the six age-group trophies on offer at the Caymanas Golf Club.

The other trophy went to The Bahamas, while the Vittoria (Izzy) Marley award for sportsmanship went to Stefaniya Mosyagina of the Dominican Republic.

Host country Jamaica (108 points) was second in two categories and third in one to eventually close the championship in fourth place behind Puerto Rico (154), Dominican Republic (131), and the Bahamas (120).

Anissa Robinson of The Bahamas, who scored 249, won the Girls’ 11-13 category for the John Fitzgerald Harewood trophy, while Isabella Ramdeen (255) of Trinidad & Tobago was second, while Jamaica’s Alessandra Coe (262) was third.

Michael Avila of Puerto Rico Boys notched 230 points to win the Boys’ 11-13 category for the Bob Slatter trophy. He finished ahead of Alejandro Balbuena (241) of the Dominican Republic, who tied for second with Bayoan Ortiz of Puerto Rico. Jamaica’s Shasa Redlefsen (243) was just two strokes back in fourth place after taking the lead at the end of the first day. The other Jamaican player, Jacob Schnoor (296), was 11th overall.

The top three in the Girls’ 15 and Under category for the Kenneth Francis trophy were Amelia Santiago (243) of Puerto Rico, Madison Carrol (247) of The Bahamas, and Shania Reyes (247) of the Dominican Republic. Jamaica did not have a competitor in the category.

Mattea Issa receives her runner-up award from Kallan Sooknoor of the Trinidad and Tobago.

For the Boys’ 15 and under group for the Arturo Pellerano trophy, Tomas Rodriguez (220) of Puerto Rico was first, ahead of second place players Fernando Leduc (227) of Puerto Rico and Arman Newman (227) of Bermuda. Jamaica’s two representatives, Kemari Morris (268) and Jamal Stewart (269), were 14th and 15th, respectively.

The Girls’ 18 and Under category for the Peter Hale trophy went to Camila Negroni (235), who led from the first round. Jamaica’s Mattea Issa (239) finished second after she had been the joint leader with Negroni at the end of the second round. The Dominican Republic’s Stefaniya Mosyagina (245) was third.

Issa was also pleased with her performance, though she thought that she could have played better overall.

“It was a very special event to me. This is the venue where I played my first-ever CAJGC back when I was 11 years old, and to be here when I am 17 still competing and still loving the game really means a lot to me. That’s what I have to look at because although I did not play my best this week—II am pretty disappointed in myself—at least there’s some positives to take away.”

Puerto Rico also grabbed the James Moss Solomon trophy for the Boys’ 18 and under, with Evan Pena recording a six under par 210. Jamaica’s Ryan Lue (223) and Rodrigo Huerto of the Dominican Republic were tied for second.

Lue was the only Jamaican to post an under par score when he shot five under par 67 to top the leaderboard for the first round. That was also the lowest individual score of the championship.

Ryan Lue accepts his award from Dr. Carey Wallace, CEO of TEF

Lue said that he was “very happy to compete” on home soil.

“All my friends are here, family, so to play in front of them, it’s just an honour,” he added.

The other local golfers in the category who completed the championship were Aman Dhiman (232 for fifth), Trey Williams (242 for ninth), and Jerone Thomas (256 for 17th).

Jamaica’s Coach Jonathan Newnham thought that his team played well, especially given that the tournament delay due to the passing of Hurricane Beryl meant some key players were no longer available.

“It was a good week. Unfortunately, with the date changes thanks to Hurricane Beryl, we weren’t able to field a full team, so that reduced our chances of winning the category overall, but we had some good individual performances, and I am very proud of the team,” he explained.

Jodi Munn-Barrow, president of the Jamaica Golf Association, said she was proud of the Jamaicans’ effort despite Puerto Rico’s dominance.

“In the end, we are happy that we were able to host a successful tournament,” she noted.