KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Johnnie Walker whiskey brand that is synonymous with golf, is once again coming to the forefront as they have partnered with the Jamaica Golf Association to stage the 59th Caribbean Amateur Golf Classics (CAGC) which teed off earlier this week.

Nasha Douglas, Brand Manager – Spirits & Wines, at Red Stripe Diageo, said they are extremely happy to be on board with the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships as it’s a natural progression with their long time support of the sport.

“We hosted our own tournament the Johnnie Walker Learning for Life Golf Classic and many of the players from the Jamaica team supported to raise funds for Learning for Life,” noted Douglas.

“For the CAGC week Johnnie Walker will do what we do best by providing hospitality services for the golfers and friends of golfers,” she added.

“We are proud sponsors of this golf event and we want to ensure that the Johnnie Walker brand connects with our consumers through golf and we believe that this is the perfect opportunity to make this connection,” said Douglas.

The Caribbean Amateur Golf Classics will be played at the Cinnamon Hill and Half Moon golf clubs and will bring together 150 of the best golfers from across seven Caribbean countries.

The tournament actually began on Monday with an opening ceremony at the Hilton Ballroom and will continue until Friday.

Jamaican golfers will be looking to end their long winless drought. “It has been a long time since Jamaica has been Caribbean champions and we are hopeful we can regain that status on home soil,” said Peter Chin, president of the Jamaica Golf Association.

This premier golfing event which started in 1957, has grown from a competition between just Jamaica and Trinidad to a tournament that now includes nine Caribbean countries in The Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and the US Virgin Islands.

The countries will be vying for the prestigious Hoerman Cup awarded to the best male team in which Puerto Rico are defending champions and the George Teale Cup to the champion female team, won by the Trinidad and Tobago last year.

Other divisional awards up for grabs are the Ramon Baez Trophy (35-49 year-old) won by Dominican Republic; Francis/Steele-Perkins Cup (50-59) won by Puerto Rico who also captured the Higgs and Higgs Trophy (60 and older).

The points earned from each division will be tallied for each country to determine the overall winner of the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship for the Arthur Ziadie Trophy won by Puerto Rico.

Jamaica’s Hoerman Cup consists of Jonathan Newnham, Sean Morris, William Knibbs, Owen Samuda and Ian Facey with Zandre Roye  as reserve.

Peter Chin, Easton Williams and reserve Gordon Hutchinson will compete for the Higgs & Higgs Trophy.

The George Teale Trophy team is Madeline Piccininni, Tiana Cruz, Kei Harris and Jodi Barrow as reserve. While Gifford Wilmot, Mark Newnham and reserve Robert Chin will compete for the Ramon Baez Cup.

The Francis & Steele Perkins Trophy team is Keith Stein, Radcliff Knibbs and reserve Greg Chong.

Howard Walker