Jamaica miss first CGA 4-Ball Golf title in seven years

Jamaica, six-time winners of the Caribbean Golf Association’s (CGA) 4-Ball Championship and holders of the Ambrose Gouthro Cup, relinquished the country title after finishing runners-up at the seventh staging of the competition.

The Bahamas captured the country trophy after pulling ahead of Jamaica in the final round, scoring 88 points to Jamaica’s 71. Last year’s runners-up, Trinidad and Tobago, finished third with 65 points. The championship was held at the Royal Turks & Caicos Golf Course in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Jamaica entered the tournament as the team to beat and quickly found itself under pressure. The eventual champions, The Bahamas, took a three-point lead after the opening round, while Trinidad and Tobago sat just one point farther back in third place.

Jamaica slipped to third on the leaderboard after round two but responded strongly in the final round, battling difficult windy conditions to win two of the six categories. The team also secured second, third, and seventh-place finishes across the remaining divisions.

Among the Seniors, Dr Mark Newnham and Owen Samuda combined to retain the Francis Steele Perkins Trophy for a seventh time, finishing with a combined score of two-under-par 214. Puerto Rico pushed them all the way but finished one stroke back on 215, while The Bahamas were third on 217.

Jamaica also captured the Super Seniors category and the Higgs and Higgs Cup, with Radcliffe Knibbs and Keith Stein carding three-under-par 213 over the three rounds. The Bahamas finished second on six-over-par 220, while hosts Turks and Caicos Islands were third on five-over-par 221.

The women also made a strong contribution, with Maggi Lyn and Michele McCreath combining for a second-place finish on 242. They ended nine shots behind category winners Turks and Caicos Islands, who posted 226 to claim the Dessie Henry Trophy. Trinidad and Tobago were third on 245.

Jamaica Golf Association president Jodi Munn-Barrow and Diane Hudson also secured a podium finish, placing third with a score of 242, just two shots behind second-placed Bahamas on 240. Trinidad and Tobago won the category and the Maria Nunes Trophy with a total of 15-over-par 231.

In the Legends category, Carlyle Hudson and Dorrel Allen finished on 236, two shots behind runners-up Trinidad and Tobago on 234. The Bahamas claimed the Ashraph Ali Trophy by 10 shots after posting eight-over-par 224 across the three rounds.

The other Jamaican pairing of Dave Cameron and Norman Pryce competed in the Mid-Amateur category, won by The Bahamas with a score of two-under-par 214 to secure the Ramon Baez Romano Trophy. The Cayman Islands were second on 222, while Bahamas B placed third on 223. Cameron and Pryce finished seventh on 236.

“Very proud of Team Jamaica. Everyone personally went out there and tried their hardest. We were behind for the overall after day two, and everyone fought hard on the last day to bring in every point possible for us to overtake Trinidad and to finish second overall. Also very pleased with the performance of our seniors, Owen Samuda and Dr Mark Newnhnan, who have retained the trophy for Jamaica for the last five or six years and also very proud of Radcliffe Knibbs and Keith Stein, who retook the trophy after winning it two years ago. So Team Jamaica’s overall performance was quite good. I know some are disappointed, but with the limited resources that golf has nowadays, we’re pleased with the results, and we hope that we can grow the game as we continue,” said Jodi Munn-Barrow, president of the Jamaica Golf Association.

This year marked the first time in seven editions of the championship that Jamaica failed to take home the overall trophy.

Team Jamaica received sponsorship support from Jamaica Aggregates Limited, CMK Bakery, Innovative Energy Group, and Port of Call Duty Free.