Barbados win Caribbean Golf Championship in DR

A decisive birdie on the last hole by Julian Jordan secured the Ramon Baez-Romano trophy for Barbados as he and James Johnson united to win the Caribbean Mid-Amateurs golf championship in the Dominican Republic last weekend.

Playing in the 2017 Caribbean Classic Championships, at Punta Cana, the Barbadians staved off host country Dominican Republic to win by two strokes when the hometown players were threatening to deny the defending champions a second straight victory in the division.

Jordan and Johnson completed the 54-hole two-ball/better-ball tournament with a gross 203, while the DR team of Lino Guerrero and Juan Campusano finished second on 205. Jamaicans Sean Morris and Owen Samuda were third with a gross 217.

“The pressure was on. They were playing well and we were playing well and I am happy that I was able to deliver for my team and secure the championship for Barbados,” said Jordan.

The race for championship, which Barbados won last year in Jamaica when Johnson teamed with Marcus Clarke, turned into a thrilling tussle over the last nine holes in Punta Cana as the Barbadian team dug deep to post a day’s best, four-under-par 68, when their rivals registered 70.

It was also a remarkable comeback for Johnson and Jordan after they were trailing the Dominican Republic players by five strokes on the first day, last Thursday, when they registered 70 and the DR players – 65. The defending champions rebounded on Day 2, posting 65 to jointly lead the tournament into the third day, and then closed out with some exciting golf on the final day.

Barbados’ Senior players (50 and over), veteran Carlsen Leacock and newcomer Newton Daisley, also did the country proud as they finished second in the competition for the Francis/ Steele/Perkins Cup. They posted a 54-hole gross of 216 and were defeated by Trinidadians Deryck Gonsalves and Rynold Deonath by two strokes (gross 214).

It was a measure of disappointment for the Barbadians, who at one point seemed capable of returning home with victories in two divisions, after Leacock and Daisley had rattled the field with a two-under-par 70 to hold the early lead on the first day. They then fell off the pace, carding 77 on the second day, which allowed the Trinidadians Gonsalves and Deonath to forge into the lead with a 70 and a two-day gross 143. The Barbadians stormed back with an impressive three-under-par 69 on the final day, but that was not enough to deny the Trinidadians.

Trinidad and Tobago also predictably won the men’s Super-Seniors Division (60 years and over) as the consistent Fabien Lee-Foon and veteran Monty Chapman led from start to finish in a keenly contested competition for the Higgs & Higgs Trophy. Lee-Foon and Chapman posted 217 over the three days, and finished seven strokes ahead of second placed Bahamians Oswald Moore and Raymond Gibson (224) .

Puerto Ricans Rebekah Alfond and Mara Pagan took the women’s division, and secured the Maria Nunes trophy, with a 54-hole gross 238.

The “Classic Championships” revamped last year in Jamaica to include three additional competitions, which were previously contested as part of the Caribbean Amateur Championships, this year attracted teams from Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, host country Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Barbados , Jamaica, Cayman Islands, US Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Suriname .

Following the Caribbean Classic, male and female regional teams will return to the Dominican Republic in July for the 2017 Caribbean Amateur Championships, where they will compete for the Hoerman Cup and the George Teale Trophy. (BB)