Team Jamaica returned to the island earlier this week as five-time winners of the Caribbean Golf Association’s 4-Ball Championship, which was held in Trinidad and Tobago at the Plantation Golf and Country Club.
Since 2020, when Jamaica won the overall trophy or the Ambrose Gouthro Cup, the island’s golfers have distinguished themselves by winning the cup each year including this year having amassed 73 points over Trinidad and Tobago’s 56.
The other islands in the six-team championship were Bermuda in third place with 38 points, the Bahamas on 34, Barbados on 23, and the Cayman Islands placed sixth with nine points.
Jamaica entered the championship with the largest number of golfers, numbering twenty, followed by host country Trinidad and Tobago with sixteen. There were six-trophy categories within the championship. Jamaica won four of the six categories, came second in one and fifth in the other, while putting on a dominant display over its Caribbean partners. The male/female trophy breakdown showed three wins and a fifth place for the men, while the women won one and came second in the other.
Dr. Mark Newnham and Owen Samuda teamed up to capture the Francis Steele & Perkins Cup for the senior men ahead of Bermuda after posting seven under par 209 over the three rounds, to one under par 215 by Bermuda. They had two very good rounds of three under par each for the second and third rounds, respectively, while scoring one under par 71 in the first round.
The duo of Radcliff Knibbs and Keith Stein posted even more impressive scores to take the Higgs & Higgs Trophy. Their three-day total of eleven under par 205 resulted from three under par 69 in the first round and four under par 68 in the last two rounds. The B team of Metry Seaga and Mike Glieckman came in second with a four under par 212 score, while Trinidad came in third with one over par 217.
The Ashraph Ali Trophy for Masters or men over 70 went to Jamaica’s men’s team of Dorrel Allen and Victor Hudson. They posted a combined score of 220 to share the trophy with the Bahamas, who posted the same score.
The local duo of Andre Dhanpaul and Delroy Johnson were no match for Bermuda in the quest for the Ramon Baez Romano Trophy for mid amateur men. Bermuda’s total score was nine under par 207 while Jamaica posted 24 over par 240 for fifth place.
The combination of Michelle McCreath and Maggie Lyn grabbed the Dessie Henry Trophy for females 45 and over. They scored 252 ahead Trinidad and Tobago’s 264 in second place.
Trinidad and Tobago turned the tables on Jodi Munn-Barrow and Lisa Gardner to take the Maria Nunes Trophy for ladies 25 and over. Trinidad and Tobago’s combined score of 240 was just two strokes ahead of Jamaica’s 242.
President of the Jamaica Golf Association, Jodi Munn-Barrow, expressed delight at the accomplishment.
“I am extremely proud of team Jamaica at this year’s 4-Ball Championships, victorious in all except one category this year and a second place finish. We continue to streak five years as overall champion and everybody went out there, the team played hard, the conditions were tough, course was windy but we all played to our game plan and I am very very proud of all of all of the team members," she said.
Scheffler 'satisfied' after retaining Hero World Challenge
Scottie Scheffler says it was "very satisfying" to equal the record for the most wins in a single year after retaining the Hero World Challenge.
The American hit a superb nine-under 63 in the final round to win the tournament, finishing on 25 under, six shots ahead of South Korea's Tom Kim.
His bogey-free round clinched him a record-equalling ninth title of 2024 as he birdied three of the first four holes and four of the final six to storm to victory in the 20-man invitational event at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas.
With the Masters and the Olympic gold medal among his accolades this year, Scheffler tied Tiger Woods (2000) and Vijay Singh (2004) for the most wins in a single season since 1950.
"[It was] very satisfying," he said. "I did a lot of good stuff today on the course.
"It feels nice to take a break and come back and continue to play some really solid golf."
Kim carded a 68 to finish 19-under as he struggled to stay close to Scheffler, while overnight leader Justin Thomas, who remains without a win since the 2022 PGA Championship, finished a shot further back in third.
That allowed Scheffler to edge into a lead which he held onto to become just the third player to win back-to-back editions of the tournament after Woods and Viktor Hovland.
"It has been a great year and a fun year," added Scheffler.
"I have had a little bit of time to reflect, but I am not really sure how to assess it. It has just been pretty surreal, a lot of fun, and I am just really grateful."
Thomas wants Woods' seal of approval at Hero World Challenge
Justin Thomas would be thrilled to gain the seal of approval from Tiger Woods by going on to win the Hero World Challenge.
Woods, a 15-time major champion, is hosting the event at the Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas.
After three rounds, Thomas holds a one-shot lead over world number one Scottie Scheffler, who squandered a birdie putt on the 18th and sits at 16 under par.
Asked how he would feel to receive the trophy from Woods, Thomas said: "Yeah, yeah, that would be great.
"I've had a couple of opportunities in the past, but it's something I'd love to check off my box in my career at some point."
Thomas has not won a title since lifting the PGA Championship in May 2022, but is in a strong position after carding a bogey-free, six-under-par 66 on Saturday.
"I've been progressing nicely, and have been working on all the right things," the American said.
"I feel like I've been seeing signs of improvement, which is what you want and that's all I can do.
"I can't control everybody else or what’s going on, I've just got to keep playing as good as I possibly can and hope that it's enough come Sunday."
Tom Kim was one of Saturday's big moves, as he went up seven places to third after scoring 62, with a double-bogey on the 17th quashing his hopes of equalling the course record of 61.
Kim sits two shots back from Thomas and two ahead of Keegan Bradley on 13 under, with Akshay Bhatia and Sahith Theegala tied for fifth a shot further back.
Cameron Young, who was the first-round leader, is down in 12th on five under, after he only managed a par score of 72.
Scheffler leads after second round of Hero World Challenge
World number one Scottie Scheffler enjoyed a two-shot lead after the second round of the Hero World Challenge as he looks to defend the title.
The 28-year-old American made eight birdies in a bogey-free round to finish on 13 under at the Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas.
Scheffler was three shots back of Cameron Young after the first round of the event that has a field of 20 players and is hosted by Tiger Woods.
"[I was] just trying to keep my foot down on the pedal," said Scheffler.
"It was good. I did a lot of good things. The front nine was really nice and then the back nine I felt like I did some good things as well."
Justin Thomas and Akshay Bhatia are joint-second on 11 under, with Keegan Bradley two shots back and sitting in fourth place.
"I didn't feel like I had to grind on the majority of my birdie putts, a lot of them were tap-ins or whatnot," Thomas said.
"If I can just iron or wedge it just a little closer to the hole and get some putts to go in, I feel like I've got a really good round out there this weekend."
Sepp Straka and Im Sung-jae are tied for fifth place after shooting 68s, while Young, who was the leader after the opening day, slipped down to share 10th place.
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