Regional golf made a grand return over the weekend with the 25th Caribbean Golf Classic wrapping up at the picturesque golf course of the Casa de Campo Resort in La Romana, Dominican Republic.
With the region still experiencing significant cases of COVID-19, organizers staged a subdued five-day event this time around. The event, which is staged by the Caribbean Golf Association (CGA), was one of the first regional sporting events for the year. In fact, it’s one of the first regional sports events since the COVID-19 pandemic forced a stoppage of sports in the region back in March of 2020.
In the competition for the George Noon Cup, given to the country with the most points overall, The Bahamas finished third with 52 overall points. Puerto Rico won with 104 total points, the Turks and Caicos Islands settled for second with 72 points and The Bahamas rounded out the top three.
For the Robert Grell Trophy, the battle for the men, Puerto Rico once again came out on top, scoring 109 total points. The Bahamas was second with 52 points, and an invitational team from the United States finished third with 46 total points.
The Bahamas didn’t field a women’s team. Puerto Rico captured that division, winning the Jodi Munn-Barrow Trophy with 35 total points. The Turks and Caicos Islands took second with 27 total points and the host nation Dominican Republic finished third with 13 points.
Individually, Wilton Williamson came out on top for The Bahamas in the men’s second group with 134 total points. Bahamian Edroy Williamson was 14th in that group with 115 total points, and Anthony Hinsey was 18th with 111 total points.
Leron Williams was fifth for The Bahamas in the men’s fourth group with 101 total points. Dwight Tinker finished tied for ninth with 97 total points, and Ural Pratt was 11th with 95 points. Carlos A. Lopez-Lay, of Puerto Rico, was the top scorer in that group with 122 total points. Lynford Miller finished seventh for The Bahamas in the men’s first group with 142 total points. Erick Morales, of Puerto Rico, won that group with 170 points.
John Reckley finished tied for seventh in the men’s fifth group with 85 total points. Edwin Rosado, of the US Virgin Islands, came out on top in that group with 102 points.
Leander Brice finished 10th for The Bahamas in the men’s third group with 119 total points. Teammate Ken Kangal was one spot behind him, finishing with 118 points. Angelo Fernandez, of Puerto Rico, was the top scorer in that group with 130 total points.
Last year’s event was canceled due to the arrival of COVID-19 in the region. At the previous championships, in 2019, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, The Bahamas placed sixth overall. Winning that cup was Puerto Rico with 138 points. The Bahamas scored 81 overall points in that tournament.
Globally, the sport of golf has been acknowledged as one of the safest sports in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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