Cayman golf is gearing up for one of its biggest local events.
The 19th annual Cayman Islands Amateur Golf Championships will be played next weekend, 12-13 May, at the North Sound Golf Club. The event is open to golfers of all ages and playing abilities.
Cayman Islands Golf Association President Jason Perras states a big field is expected.
“This is our biggest tournament of the year and it promises to be our most exciting event as well,” Perras said. “We traditionally have 60-70 players competing over the weekend in various age and handicap divisions. We had a playoff in our seniors division last year, which was the first playoff that we’ve had in ages. All divisions seem to be wide open this year, so who knows what will happen.”
Prizes will be awarded based on age categories and handicap levels. The results of the tournament will also be used in selecting the Cayman Islands national golf team, which will be participating in the 54th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships in St. Kitts this August. Four of the six qualifying rounds for this year’s team have already been completed, with the two rounds of the island championship being the fifth and sixth qualifying rounds. This year’s national team will be sponsored by KPMG.
In 2011 some 56 golfers participated with George Christie winning the seniors division after shooting scores of 80 and 79, Bob Slatter claiming the super senior crown with scores of 83 and 79, Samantha Widmer being the ladies champion by shooting 73 and 74 and Joel Dodson nabbing the men’s title with scores of 70 and 75.
First time participants are also cordially invited to come out and play. All participants must be members of the Cayman Islands Golf Association, at a nominal membership fee of $50.
Entries to the tournament close on Thursday, 10 May. Players have the option of teeing off in either the morning or afternoon on Saturday, with all players teeing off in the afternoon on tournament Sunday. Food and refreshments will be served in conjunction with the awards ceremony following Sunday’s round. Entries can be made online via the association’s website or at the North Sound Club pro-shop.
Individual hole sponsorships for the tournament are still available for as little as $300.
Also impacting the tournament is the recent announcement that North Sound Club will remain open for the foreseeable future. Perras feels that is good news for the local golf community.
“It is nice to know that the future of golf in Cayman is becoming clearer. With that in mind, we have been conducting junior clinics on Tuesdays and Wednesdays over the past year or so at North Sound Club. With the assistance of Jason Deerwester and Robert Chilman (the golf professionals at the North Sound Club), the clinics have been very well received with between 50-60 kids at each session.
“Our goal is to build a strong junior programme so we can develop a number of junior players to compete in the Caribbean Junior Championships. In years past, we were able to field teams with multiple junior players, whereas last year, we were unable to send a single player. That has to change.”
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