It was three-peat for Jamaica who put on a dominant show at the Caribbean Golf Association’s Four-Ball Championship in Florida to successfully defend their title from 2019 and 2021 and win in 2022. There was no championship in 2020 due to the Novel Corona Virus Pandemic. Jamaica won all six trophies on offer at the championship. . The three-day championship was played at the Golden Palm Golf Course.
Jamaica retained the coveted country trophy, the Ambrose Gouthro Cup for best performing country with 53 points. Runner-up Bahamas was a distant twenty-five points away on 28 while third place Cayman Islands was on 22 points. Puerto Rico was further back in fourth on 16 points, just four points ahead of fifth place Trinidad & Tobago’s 12.
Philip Prendergast and Owen Samuda successfully defended their Ramon Baez trophy for men thirty-five ad over with a combined score of even par 213 after posting two over par 73, three under par 68, over par 72 during the championship. the category runner-up was Lynford Miller and Ashley Glinton of the Bahamas who were seven strokes behind on 220 (74, 70 and 75).
The team of former president of the Jamaica Golf Association Wayne Chai Chong and partner Rory Jardine were also in the winners circle with their five over par 218 on the back of 75, 65 and 78 to keep the Higgs & Higgs Cup for men 60 and over. The other two Jamaican teams in the category were placed third and ninth respectively. They were Robert Chin and Dorrel Allen (223) and another former JGA president Peter Chin and George Hugh (240).
Dr. Mark Nwenhan and Michael Gliechman successfully defended and brought back the Francis Steele Perkins Trophy (for men 50 and over), when they topped the category with a three-day total of 218 (77,71 and 70). The other Jamaican team in the category – Metry Seaga and Dave Cameron (230) placed fifth.
The ladies, led by president Jodi Munn-Barrow were also successful in bringing home two trophies.
The Munn-Barrow and Lisa Gardner (235) team led the Maria Nunes Trophy category for all three days of the championship and brought home the trophy by a 12 stroke lead over Mara Pagan and Rebeckah Alford (247)of Puerto Rico. That trophy was for women 35 and over.
The other female team of Maggie Lyn and Michelle McCreath bagged the Desire Henry Trophy for women 50 and over. They posted 251 for the three days and was the only female team in that category.
President Munn-Barrow was very pleased with the performance of the team, “I am so proud of the Jamaican team. We won five of five categories, repeated in all five categories from last year so the performance was spectacular. (The) golf course was very difficult. Course condition was hard but the team fought very hard and they fought for every shot and I cannot be any prouder of them. I am really happy to bring home five trophies for Jamaica and hold our flag very high.”