Bloomfield begins Ja Open title defence
ROSE HALL, St James — Jamaica’s Johnny Bloomfield will start the defence of his LIME Jamaica Open golf title this morning when the 54-hole championships gets under way at the Half Moon course near Montego Bay, starting at 8:00 am.
The 30-year-old Bloomfield will be seeking his third title since 2006 (there were no championships in 2007) and will go up against a strong field of 63 players — one more than last year when he shot a four-round score of six-underpar 210 to win by a comfortable nine strokes.
Players from eight countries will take part in the event that will be held for the 47th time and end on Saturday afternoon. In addition to Jamaica, there are players from the United States, Canada, Scotland, Italy, Switzerland, Barbados, and the Cayman Islands.
Bloomfield led on all four days last year with scores of 71, 68 and 71 on the 72 par course, with local professional Dermott ‘Paul’ Warren in second place.
The easygoing Bloomfield is in great form, having just qualified for the Canadian Tour, and will start favourites to retain his title.
Earlier this week, Half Moon’s director of golf, Ewan Peebles, declared the 7,119-yard course ready for the four days.
“The golf course will be beautifully presented and in fitting condition for Jamaica’s premier golf tournament,” he said.
This year’s staging of the Open at Half Moon is the second of a three-year agreement for the event to be held there.
LIME is the title sponsor this year and earlier, Errol Miller, regional vicepresident — Corporate Communication at the company, announced the sponsorship would be for two years, with the value of this year’s event being $3,000,000.
In making the announcement, Miller said, “We’re very proud to be associated with this historic event. There is no question that this event is seen as a testing ground for young golfers, including Bruce Fleischer, who was a regular at the Jamaica Open.”
President of the Jamaica Golf Association, Wayne Chai Chong, welcomed LIME’s sponsorship: “LIME’s sponsorship of the Jamaica Open is especially appreciated considering the difficulties being experienced all around.”
The Open will cost a total of US$100,000 to stage, while the total prize money is US$70,000, with the winner taking home US$14,000. The runner-up will pocket US$8,000 and third place, US$5,500.
