ROSE HALL, St James — Jamaican golfer Ian Facey created local sports history last month when he took part in the first golf tournament at the Pan-American Games held at the Angus Glen course in Ontario, Canada.

And while he did not do as well as he had hoped, the experience was priceless, he claimed.

Facey, who was part of the Jamaican Hoerman Cup team that finished second to the Dominican Republic in Montego Bay last week, finished 29th overall in Canada, shooting a four-day score of 26 over par 314.

“It was a great experience,” he told the Jamaica Observer last week. “I learned a lot about the golf game, and the golf course is like nothing I had ever seen before.”

Facey, who just graduated from Nova Southeastern University, said: “While I never played as well as I wanted to, it was a great learning experience.”

He admitted that “a bit of nerves” affected his overall performance.

Additionally, he said the course played a part as the fairways were narrower than those he was used to. “If you look down the fairways, if you look right or left of fairways, they were as wide open like here, it was kind of fescue (a variety of grass) and if you go in there you have to chip out, so there is no chance to get a shot and it makes the tee shots look a lot more intimidating,” Facey said.

Last week he was the second best Jamaican in the tournament, behind Jonathon Newnham who shot the low score, finishing tied for 14th overall with a total of six over par 310.

— Paul Reid