Kemar Brown credits coach with win

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

University of Technology (UTech) golfer Kemar Brown, who recently captured the Jamaica Golf Association/2009 University of the West Indies (UWI) Golf Classic at the Caymanas Golf Course, said his coach, Jason Lopez, was the man behind his victory.

A third-year architecture student, Brown, who is a former national junior player, said Lopez, with whom he has been working for just over a month, made some crucial adjustments to his game, and this allowed him to claim the main 7-13 handicap category.

"I have been working with my coach and it has been paying off," said Brown, who in winning took home the Vice-Chancellor's Trophy, among other prizes.

"I have learnt so much from him and we have been working for just over a month. The minor changes that he made to my game made a big contribution to me winning," he added.

Brown, a past student of York Castle High, was, however, pleasantly surprised at the victory.

"I was surprised. I knew I played well, but I didn't know I would have won," said Brown, who plans to work in the construction industry in the future, and if possible pursue a career as a golf professional.

"It's a wonderful tournament as after one leaves high school it's good to know that there is a tertiary tournament in which one can still express one's talent. I was happy to be part of the tournament," the 20-year-old added.

Other winners at the tournament, which attracted an impressive 81 players, included Tommy Lee (0-6), Jordon Wong (13-18) and Ketoa Akwanza (19-24) in the men's category; and Jodi Barrow (0-18) and Yvonne Munn (19-30) in the female category.

G4S Limited emerged victors in the corporate segment.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old UWI first-year medical sciences student, Xavier Brown, who was the recipient of this year's event scholarship, and whose team finished second to UTech in the collegiate team category, said he was grateful for the scholarship and planned to make the best use of it.

Happy recipient

"When I heard that I was chosen I was very happy. Because of my course of study and the recession it is well appreciated and needed," said Xavier. He is also a former national junior representative, and currently plays off a handicap of 4.

"Personally, participating in the tournament was like reuniting with my past, as it has been a while that I have competed competitively.

"But now that I am back, I want to get to the top, with the help of God, by winning tournaments, and representing the country once more," said Xavier, who is also a past student of York Castle High.