When the 11-member team left for St. Kitts and Nevis to participate in the regional golf championships, president of the local governing body James Gomez knew that the team may not be up to par. With little training sessions under their belts, Gomez said the team will rely mostly on experience to capture or stay competitive at the 56th annual Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships. Teeing off yesterday at the Royal St. Kitts Golf Course, The Bahamas had fallen behind in the Hoerman Cup and the Ramon Baez divisions. Gomez believes that they will be able to make up ground before the championships ends on August 12.
"Right now, we are off to a slow start in the Hoerman Cup, but I am confident that we will improve as the championships continues," said Gomez. "I am confident that one or two of the players will take charge in this division so we expect that team to keep it together and play hard in the rounds. We are expecting some good performances in the Higgs and Higgs, that is the 60 and over division. We weren't able to field a team to compete for the George Teale Cup.
There are very few women in the country who have kept up with the sport so next year we plan to field a strong team to compete." Ossie Moore and George Turnquest will represent The Bahamas in the Higgs and Higgs which includes eight other countries: Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago and the OECS. A five member team is in the Hoerman Cup for The Bahamas, consisting of Thomas Bethel, Andrew Davies, Richardson Gibson, Rashad Ferguson and Perry Cooper.
The team was sitting in eighth after the first round, which wrapped up earlier yesterday. After a full round in the Ramon Baez, Kelsey Rolle and Peter McIntosh were in seventh with a total of 75. The division leaders were Keith Stein and Sean Morris of Jamaica with 65. No other results were available up to press time. The last division The Bahamas will be represented in is the Francis Steele Perkins with Paul Bowe and George Swann. Gomez said: "It is my hope that we do a little bit better than we have done last year. But if we don't I understand because of our limited access to golf courses. I think that in itself presents a problem in terms of preparation.
It is very costly to prepare. If you are unable to get Atlantis to open all the time or all day for practice for the team it will be very expensive. "Due to the lateness of the team's selection, that has also created a problem not a big one though. The fact that there is nowhere to play on a consistent basis is the major part. You will find that persons would have to go off the island and play because it is very, very costly here. So I do understand if we don't perform as well as we did in the past at these tournaments. At the same time I do expect different scores from last year.
Yes we have performed very well at this tournament back in the day, that is when the golf courses were more accessible and players were able to go out and play, hone their games." The Bahamas was able to capture the Hoerman Cup in the past, but the odds recently have not been their favor. Gomez also revealed that high level representations were seen in the different divisions In order for The Bahamas to reign supreme once again, Gomez stated that the Bahamas Golf Federation (BGF) will need a place they call home. Where persons can come freely to play and hone their skills. A development program will also be implemented especially at the junior level.
"Unfortunately we are faced with challenges," said Gomez. "Now. we have been trying to get the agreement down with government to assist not necessarily in terms of money but other wise. We need assistance with the lease of the golf course at South Ocean. The owners at the property are ready, they just want one guarantee. We are having a real, real challenge from getting the agreement from the government.
Whether we get the agreement or not it is important for the government to be more responsive. I think it makes things much better and it lends to good business practice that when you have a request it is done and dealt with in a timely manner. "We are poised to sign, develop [and] recondition the golf course but we need certain things to go forward."
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
