The Bahamas' Junior National Golf Team is preparing to head to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, for the 35th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships, set for July 3-8. That event will be played at the North Sound Gold Club in Grand Cayman.

Playing for The Bahamas in the tournament are Zion Taylor, Christopher Callender, Alex Dupuch, Jackson Mactaggart, Kerrington Rolle, Camdyn Forbes, Patrick Mactaggart, De'Nahj Mortimer, Miljojka Gojkovic, Tyesha Tynes, Taylor Sands, Seannae Norville-Smith, Hayley Hall and Madison Carroll.

The coach is former junior national team member Fredrick Taylor.

According to Gina Gonzalez-Rolle, Bahamas Golf Federation (BGF) junior chairperson and team manager, all but two members of the team are on New Providence. She said the two are on Grand Bahama, and that preparation is coming along well.

"Our players are training four days a week together," Gonzalez-Rolle said. "We have two golfers from Grand Bahama this year who are practicing together four days per week as well. They will be in New Providence from this Sunday training with the kids here as we don't have any coach in Grand Bahama to train them."

The other countries participating in the tournament are Barbados, host country Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the US Virgin Islands. There are three boys age divisions and three girls age divisions. The teams will be competing for the Hank James trophy, the overall team trophy of the tournament.

The first round gets underway on Wednesday, July 5, the second round will be on that Thursday, and the third and final round will be played on Friday, July 7.

In last year's tournament, The Bahamas placed fourth overall with 107 points. Last year's host country, Puerto Rico, won with 168 points. The Bahamas' team has some new players this year, and Gonzalez-Rolle hopes to improve on the team's finish.

"We have a few new players on the team, so we hope to do just as well, but we would love to win overall," said Gonzalez-Rolle. "We have six rookies. Our entire team is qualified Bahamian juniors who have worked and practiced tirelessly to do well."

The BGF Junior National Championship is usually hosted at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island and, according to Gonzalez-Rolle, there will be a lot of wind at the course in Grand Cayman, similar to how it is at Ocean Club.

The team leaves on July 2.

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