Alison Reid has renewed calls for more females to consider participating in golf to help drive growth and, by extension, prolong Jamaica’s success in the sport on the regional stage.

Reid’s comments follow another credible showing by the country’s young prospects at the just-concluded 35th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships, where they secure two individual trophies courtesy of Emily Mayne and Rocco Lopez.

The Jamaican team which placed third overall with 116 points behind Puerto Rico (161 points), who took the coveted Hank James trophy, while Dominican Republic was second on 131 points.

Reid, who served as manager for the team stressed the need to increase the number of girls who play the sport going forward.

“Even though we are losing two players, we will still have a good 18 and under Boys section. The girls are where we are weak. It's hard to find girls and so that's where we really have to put our emphasis in,” Reid said.

Mayne, who was the team’s captain, brought home the second-place trophy in the 18 and under girls. She scored 14 over par 227 to end the tournament 15 shots behind group winner Holly McLean (212) of host country Cayman Islands.

Jamaica's other representative in the category, Mattea Issa, ended sixth, after posting 28 over par 241. Jamaica placed second in the group.

Mayne expressed pride at the team’s performance, especially due to the tough conditions they had to endure.

“The conditions we faced, it was very, very windy and of course we are used to some wind in Jamaica, but we really had to adapt to the wind. The First day was not so bad, but the second day and the third the wind really did pick up, so we had the whole 18 holes for both days in the wind,” Mayne explained.

"I went into the tournament trying not to put too much pressure on myself as I won last year but of course in the back of your head you are always going to put a bit of pressure on yourself. The girl, who won Holly, it was her home course, but I just try to stick to my game plan. The first day I had a rough start, probably just due to some nerves but then I brought it back on the second day and the last day,” she added.

Lopez, who entered the final day joint third with Aman Dhiman, finished with a one under par 70, to end three over par 216 in third place in the 18 and under boys’ section. He was one of just three players to post under par score during the championship.

Puerto Rico’s Kelvin Hernandez finished tops with a 10 under par 203, while Dhiman (227) and Ryan Lue (230), collected enough points to bag third place in the group.

“The scores weren't too bad, but I felt like I could have played a lot better. I felt like I wasn't hitting the ball that great. I like the greens, but I couldn't make puts and I didn't make all birdies, but I managed to scramble very well and that kept me around par each day,” said Lopez.

 Meanwhile, the two 11-13 boys, Kemari Morris and Shasa Redlefsen were responsible for the third place in the group. Puerto Rico was the group winner.

The girls' 11-13 representatives, Alessandra Coe contributed the team's fourth place in the group won by The Bahamas, while the 15 & under girls, Samantha Azan and Anoushka Katri, also gave points to the group's fourth place finish. Puerto Rico won the category.

Aaron Ghosh and Davin Hogan closed the championship in sixth place in the 15 & under boys’ category, also won by Puerto Rico. 

The first-round of the three-day Jamaica Golf Association national junior golf trials took place at the Caymanas Golf Club on Friday.

Ten players in the Girls 18 & under, Boys and Girls 15 & under and Boys and Girls 13 & under age- groups began their journey for a place on Jamaica’s team to the Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship in the Cayman Islands from July 3-8. The Boys 18 & under completed their trials two weeks ago. 

The scores from Friday's action showed some very competitive match-ups.

Emily Mayne and Mattea Issa both scored five over par 77 to be joint leaders in the Girls 18 and under category. They each posted two birdies and seven bogeys on the day. 

Aaron Ghosh and Davin Hogan scored 83 and 98 respectively in the Boys 15 and under age-group while Anoushka Khatri shot 89 and Samantha Azan shot 94 in their respective first-rounds in the Girls 15 & under age-group. 

The three players in the boys 13 & under category, Kemari Morris, Shasha Redfelsen and Cameron Coe, are closely tracking each other after round one with scores of 85, 89 and 91, respectively.

The lone representative in the girls 13 & under category is Alessandra Coe who scored 91 for her first round. 

Second round action begins with all golfers teeing off at 9:00 am on Saturday. 

The opening round of the 2022 Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships unfolded in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday with all of the expected competitiveness and somewhat unexpected weather conditions, leaving both the team and Individual leaderboards intriguingly poised.

Players from nine CGA member countries battled both high winds and - during the closing sessions - heavy downpours in an eventful first day.

Puerto Rico and Cayman are tied for the lead in the men's Hoerman Cup Team standings, with the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago rounding out the top five.

In the Ladies' Team competition for the George Teale trophy, Jamaica sat atop the leaderboard, by a two-stroke margin over Puerto Rico, followed by the Dominican Republic, Barbados and the Bahamas respectively.

Vying for individual honours, Gustavo Rangel from Puerto Rico is the individual leader with 2 under par for 70.

The Cayman Islands' Justin Hastings and the Dominican Republic's Rhadames Peña carded an identical 71 (1 under) to lead the chasing pack comprising Payten Wight of the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico's Kelvin Hernandez.

Caymanian Holly McLean, with 75, was a stroke ahead of Puerto Rico's Darianys Guzman in a similarly close contest for the women's individual honors. Also in the mix are the Dominican Republic's Yae Yun Kim, with 77, and the "two Emilys" - Mayne of Jamaica and Odwin of Barbados, who carded identical 78s.

The Arthur Ziadie trophy for the best overall team also remains virtually anyone's game, with Puerto Rico in the lead at 14 points and Jamaica 2 points behind followed by Dominican Republic with 10 points

Samantha Azan and Emily Mayne closed the championship on top of their respective age groups but Jamaica fell short of the team title at the 34^th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships that ended on Thursday.

Azan won the 15 & Under category while Mayne was tied for first place in the 18 & Under categories.

Azan led on day one, dropped to third on day two but bounced back to win outright on the final day by just one stroke ahead of the day-two leader Mattea Issa.  Issa was tied for second with Victoria Rivera and Elvin Krishny of Puerto Rico.

Azsan shot a six over par 78 for a three-day total of 231 while Issa posted her worst score of the competition of nine over par 81 to end on 232.

Mayne enjoyed a good tournament, moving from third on day one to first on day two. Her final day score of 80 saw her end with a three-day total of 11 over par 224, tied with Emily Odwin of Barbados. Meanwhile, Eryn Blakely maintained her second-day position of seventh place after she scored 80 to close the championship on 251.

Alessandra Coe was Jamaica's lone female in the 13 & Under category.  She finished in eighth place with scores of 103, 99 and 106 for a combined total of 308.  Ava Saavedra of Puerto Rico won the category after posting an overall score of 237.

The results of the female golfers are significant as it is the first time any female was winning any of the age group categories.  The coaches, Jason Lopez and Jonathan Newnham, who won an age group category as a player, as well as team manager Alison Reid, were extremely proud of their performances.

Ryan Lue was the best-placed Jamaican male.  He competed in the 15 & Under category and closed the championship with a score of 239, good for fourth place.

Aaron Gosh scored 167 for 10th place while Lek Drummond was tied for 14th place with Camdyn Forbes of the Bahamas on 275.

The 15 & Under category winner was Danny Lyne of the Cayman Islands after scoring 76 on the final day with a combined total of 13 over par 236.

Rocco Lopez ended eighth in the 18 & Under category.  He scored 234 over the three days.  Trey Williams came 10th with 241 while Aman Dhiman was tied for 14th on 244.  Alexander Dupuch of the Bahamas posted the same three-day total.

The 18 & Under category went to Kelvin Hernandez of Puerto Rico with scores of 73, 68 and 69 for a combined total of three under par 210.

The final male age group of 13 & Under went to Evan Pena of Puerto Rico who led on all three days.  He posted scores of 73, 74, and 81 for a combined total of 15 over par 228.  The two Jamaicans - Kemari Morris 269 and Shasa Fedlefsen 272 were eighth and ninth respectively.

Most of the members of the Jamaican team left the island Saturday morning for Palmas Del Mar in Puerto Rico for the 34th staging of the Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships. The players will team up with Eryn Blakely in Puerto Rico and have at least one practice round ahead of Tuesday's start of the competition.

The team is said to be in high spirits, confident of representing the country well at the championships. Team coaches, Jonathan Newnham and Jason Lopez, as well as the most experienced male and female players Rocco Lopez and Emily Mayne, respectively, were upbeat about Jamaica's chances this time around having come close in 2018 and 2019 when they finished in second place on each occasion.

“We are ready to go and I am excited.  We have done our prep.  We are going there to make sure we understand the course properly and then go out there and execute as best as possible so I am excited for the journey ahead and look forward to a great week," said Dr Newnham.

Coach Lopez said everyone prepared well having been assessed on various golf courses across the island including Caymanas, Cinnamon Hill, Constant Spring, Half Moon, Sandals and Tryall.

"We are well prepared.  We had a great training series.  Between myself, Jonny and Alison (team manager) we were able to do a comprehensive review of all the kids’ games, testing on different golf courses (and) different facilities.  Of course, they all have their own personal coaches and I think they are well prepared for this event," said Lopez.

“The mental preparation will start now, to try and prepare them to perform without putting too much pressure on themselves.  That will be the job going forward."

The other team members on the boys’ side are 18 & Under - Aman Dhiman and Trey Williams; 15 & Under - Lek Drummond, Aaron Ghosh and Ryan Lue and 11-13 - Kemari Morris and Shasa Redlefsen; while the girls are 15 & Under - Samantha Azan and Mattea Issa, and 11-13 - Alessandra Coe who is making her first trip as a national representative.