Justin Burrowes overcame three bogeys to shoot a one-over-par 73 and assume the early lead at the Alliance National Golf Championships at the Caymanas Golf Club on Thursday.
Burrowes also had three birdies and an eagle on the day that gave him a one-shot lead over William Knibbs. Owen Samuda had a 75 while Zandre Roye shot a 76 to be tied with Mark Newnham. Sean Morris and Shamar Wilson are both tied on 78.
Burrowes said he was happy with his first-round score even though he bogeyed the last two holes to end the round a stroke above par.
"Today was pretty good. I knew that I had to post a good number to keep myself in the tournament which I felt like I did today,” he said.
“Didn't putt as well as I wanted to but there are still a lot of positives to build on going into the next three days. I feel like I played well and there is a lot to build on and with the conditions being tough, it's always good to hit the ball well which I feel like I did today and I look forward to the next couple of days."
Meanwhile, many-time women’s champion Jodi Munn-Barrow led juniors Samantha Azan and Winni Lau with an even-par 72. She was also pleased with the day's play.
"(I am) very happy with today's round, didn't make a lot of mistakes which was good because the course was playing very tough. Conditions were hard, so overall happy, still have two more days to go so I have to focus on day two and day three so and hopefully the outcome will be good," she said.
In the Ladies 13 - 24 category, Valerie Grant had a score of 101 while Suzan White shot 106.
In the Men Senior 0-12 category, Vikram Dhuman leads with an 80 and is followed by Tony Allison (82), Nigel Davy (84) and Dave Cameron (87).
In the Men 7-12, Thajae Richards shot 88 while Richard White had 97.
The Men Super Senior 0-12 is led by former JGA president Wayne Chai Chong (79) and is followed by Teddy Alexander (80), Robert Chin (81), Stephen Chang (81) and Bert Tomlinson (82).
Desmond Brown scored a 97.
The golfers will take to the Caymanas Golf Course at 7:30 am today for the second day of the championship.
Ryder Cup day three: Europe’s winners urge Luke Donald to remain as captain
Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup stars have urged Luke Donald to remain as captain when they defend the trophy on American soil in 2025.
While Tony Jacklin and Bernard Gallacher led the side on multiple occasions, it has been common practice since 1997 for the captain to only get one bite of the cherry, even if they spearheaded record victories.
However, Donald’s players made it clear they would like the former world number one to break the mould as they chanted “two more years” while he gave a television interview in the aftermath of the five-point victory in Rome.
“I think everyone sitting here would be very happy to have him again,” Rory McIlroy said in the winning team’s press conference.
Tommy Fleetwood, who secured the winning point, added: “Luke is amazing, we are all so proud of him.
“From when this whole process started, he’s been so, so good. The way he’s been this week has been phenomenal. We just look at Luke on another level. He’s been amazing and I’m so happy that we could all get it done for him.”
Asked if he would accept if offered the role at Bethpage Black in upstate New York, Donald said: “I want to enjoy this moment right now with these guys…I haven’t been asked yet.
“I am going to enjoy this one right now. We will figure that one out later.”
Moment of the day
After Rickie Fowler found the water off the 16th tee, Fleetwood responded with a superb shot onto the green that effectively secured the half-point that settled the destiny of the Ryder Cup.
Shot of the day
Fleetwood may have secured the point that officially won the cup on the 17th, but his bunker shot for an eagle on the ninth was something special.
Tweet of the day
Europe’s party bus on the way back to their Rome hotel looked like the place to be.
Statistic of the day
Statistician Justin Ray underlined the importance of home advantage in the Ryder Cup.
Quote of the day
“I would love to start the week over, but that’s not possible.” – US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson reflected on his side’s defeat.
When is the next Ryder Cup?
The Black Course at Bethpage State Park will host the next Ryder Cup in September 2025, while the next on European soil will take place two years late at Adare Manor in Ireland.
Ryder Cup stars urge ‘phenomenal’ Luke Donald to stay on as European captain
Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup stars have urged Luke Donald to remain as captain when they defend the trophy on American soil in 2025.
While Tony Jacklin and Bernard Gallacher led the side on multiple occasions, it has been common practice since 1997 for the captain to only get one bite of the cherry, even if they spearheaded record victories.
However, Donald’s players made it clear they would like the former world number one to break the mould as they chanted “Two more years” while he gave a television interview in the aftermath of the five-point victory in Rome.
“I think everyone sitting here would be very happy to have him again,” Rory McIlroy said in the winning team’s press conference.
Tommy Fleetwood, who secured the winning point, added: “Luke is amazing, we are all so proud of him.
“From when this whole process started, he’s been so, so good. The way he’s been this week has been phenomenal. We just look at Luke on another level. He’s been amazing and I’m so happy that we could all get it done for him.”
Asked if he would accept if offered the role at Bethpage Black in upstate New York, Donald said: “I want to enjoy this moment right now with these guys… I haven’t been asked yet.
“I am going to enjoy this one right now. We will figure that one out later.”
Donald, who played on four winning Ryder Cup sides and has been ranked world number one, had earlier fought back tears as he was asked where this achievement ranked in his career.
“This is the best,” the 45-year-old said. “This is why the Ryder Cup is so special to me and these guys because of these moments.
“We play for each other, we get to share in that success together and we get to spend this week together and we will have those memories forever.
“I gave them a good culture to succeed, hopefully I laid out a good plan in how I thought they were going to win and then it was staying out of the way. They had to play well and they did the job, I’m happy they trusted me.
“Not many people gave us a chance after Whistling Straits. We were big underdogs, we started to show some form in the last six months and I couldn’t be happier with with the team I’ve got.
“I think these guys will be around for a long time. We formed a bond from day one and they gave me everything. They trusted me and they delivered for me.
“It started off great [on Sunday], we got off to great start, we needed some blue on the board early and a few matches changed to red and you kept looking at the board and thinking, ‘Where are we going to find 14.5 points?’ but we always had some guys at the back who looked good.”
Rory McIlroy: I used anger to my advantage on way to Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph
Rory McIlroy admitted he was fuelled by anger after propelling Europe towards Ryder Cup victory in Rome on Sunday.
A fired-up McIlroy finished as his team’s top points-scorer as Europe beat the United States 16.5-11.5 at Marco Simone after a convincing 3&1 singles win over Sam Burns.
The Northern Irishman had been embroiled in angry scenes as tempers boiled over the previous evening, getting involved in heated confrontations with two American caddies.
First McIlroy had argued with Patrick Cantlay’s bagman Joe LaCava on the 18th green as the Americans raucously celebrated a point in the fourballs.
The problems then spilled over into the car park as the players left the course, with McIlroy furiously gesticulating in the direction of Justin Thomas’ caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay.
“I was hot coming out of that yesterday,” said McIlroy, who felt LaCava had got in his way as he still had a putt of his own to hit. “Walking off the 18th was probably the angriest I’ve ever been in my career.
“I said it to the US guys, I thought it was disgraceful what went on and I made that clear.
“I felt like I used it to my advantage and came out with a different level of focus and determination and in a way it gave the whole team a bit of fire in our bellies.”
Cantlay played in the singles match prior to McIlroy and there was no acknowledgement between the pair or with LaCava when they crossed paths prior to teeing off.
McIlroy has not yet spoken to LaCava about the matter but expects all to be smoothed out in time.
He said: “We haven’t seen each other face to face but we’ve text and everything will be fine.
“It’s a point of contention and it still hurts, but time is a great healer and we’ll all move on.”
As for the car park incident, McIlroy admitted Mackay had innocently got caught up in the furore.
He said: “He was the first American I saw after I got out of the locker room so he was the one that took the brunt of it.
“He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I text Bones this morning and apologised for that.”
McIlroy was emotional after Europe crashed to a record 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits two years ago and, he again struggled to hold back the tears, but this time the feeling was one of joy.
He said: “The scoreline – 19-9, that hurt. It really did. I didn’t feel like I gave my best performance and I didn’t feel like I did my part for the team.
“This wasn’t about revenge. This was about redemption and showing what we could do.”
McIlroy, who won four points out of a possible five in Rome, now wants to build on the triumph and win in the US in 2025.
He said: “I think one of the biggest accomplishments in golf right now is winning an away Ryder Cup – and that’s what we’re going to do at Bethpage.”
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