Jamaica amateurs to make Caymanas return

After an eight-year hiatus, the Jamaica Amateur Golf Championship will return to the Caymanas Golf and Country Club.

The championship, which will run from November 23-25, will run concurrently with the Buccaneers Club's Memorial Golf Tournament on the final day.

Details were announced at yesterday's press conference at the Cable & Wireless Golf Academy, amidst revelations that trophies will be competed for in several categories including men, men's seniors, men's super seniors, ladies and senior ladies, with further categorisation by handicap.

Local and overseas players

The tournament will attract participation from many of Jamaica's top golfers, as well as interested Jamaicans residing overseas. The 2007 event will be used to determine Jamaica's representatives to an international event to be hosted in Jamaica next May, and the two top championship women will qualify to represent the country at the World Amateur Championship to be held in Australia in 2008.

The Jamaica Amateur Golf Championship will feature a 54-hole strokeplay.

Meanwhile, the twelfth renewal of the Buccaneers Memorial Tournament, staged in the memory of some of Jamaica's outstanding past national representatives, has consistently enjoyed tremendous support since its inception.

Qualifying event

It has raised in excess of $3 million in donations for its adopted charity, The Laws Street Trade Training Centre. This year the target is $400,000.

Wayne Chai Chong, vice-president of the Jamaica Golf Association, said by virtue of marrying the two tournaments they'll be able to achieve a number of objectives.

"First, in the National Amateur Championship we are able to revive a tournament which is important to the development of our golfers. "The JGA must, therefore, begin to raise the profile of the tournament it organises. To this end, I am pleased to announce that this event has been registered as a qualifying event in the World Amateur rankings."