Jamaica is all set to become the 17th country and the first English-speaking Caribbean country to host an official PGA TOUR of the Latinoamérica event — the BMW Jamaica Classic.

The premier tournament will be played at the Cinnamon Hill Golf Course in Montego Bay June 12-18.The BMV Jamaica Classic, which was launched yesterday at ATL Autobahn on Orchard Road in Kingston, is hosted by

SportsMax and the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica and sponsored by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), BMW, Heineken, and Cinnamon Hill.Featuring a field of 144 players from over 20 countries, the BMW Jamaica Classic will see a Qualifier event on the June 12, a welcome reception the following day, the Pro-Am tournament on June 14, and the Jamaica Classic from June 15-18.The BMW Jamaica Classic, the final event of the first half of the schedule of the PGA TOUR, will provide PGA TOUR Latinoamerica members one last chance to earn Order of Merit points before the mid-season reshuffle.Oliver McIntosh, president and chief executive officer at

SportsMax, said the BMW Jamaica Classic will only help to develop the sport of golf in the country.“This is to us the most exciting event to happen in Jamaica for the last 20 years since we hosted the Johnny Walker Championship. Firstly, I would like to thank our partners for supporting this event. They have seen the vision to re-establish Jamaica on the golf stage… getting this tournament is our first step in building Jamaica as a centre to attract golfers to the country,” McIntosh said.Director of Tourism Paul Pennicook said the event will help position Jamaica as the centre of attraction for golf in the Caribbean.“For the JTB, hosting the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica tournament, the BMW Jamaica Classic is a welcome opportunity to amplify our overall growth strategies for the Latin American region, as well as position Jamaica as a formidable golfing destination in the Caribbean,” he noted.Matthew Cripps, group general manager for ATL Automotive Ltd, gave his company’s commitment to the BMW Jamaica Classic.“BMW has been a big promoter of golf worldwide such as in the United Kingdom as well as the Wentworth tournament. As a matter of fact, BMW has recently opened up a sports pro-workshop at Wentworth for golfers and so there is no reason why we can’t do that in Jamaica with our golf courses here. And so we are looking forward to the golf tournament in Jamaica,” he said.President of the Jamaica Golf Association (JGA), Peter Chin, welcomed the event.“The JGA is extremely excited about this event and we would like to congratulate

SportsMax for being instrumental in bringing this event to Jamaica… [also] the financial help from JTB and BMW for the support. This tournament will help develop our youngsters as well,” he said.Three Jamaicans — Sebert Walker Jnr, Fabian Campbell and Orville Christie — have qualified for the Classic.Walker Jnr, 16, said that he was excited to be a part of the PGA TOUR Latinoamerican tournament.“I am very excited to have qualified for the PGA TOUR. This will be the biggest tournament that I am going to play in and I am very excited to be a part of it,” he told the

Jamaica Observer.Christie said that he was grateful for the opportunity.“This is a great opportunity for me and I must say that I am very grateful for this chance. This gives us a chance to show local golfers that, as long as you work hard, you can achieve whatever you put your mind to,” the 40-year-old Christie said.Campbell said that he is looking forward to represent his country on the big stage.“This, for me, is a very overwhelming feeling to qualify for the PGA TOUR Latinoamaerica tournament as I will be representing my country on the biggest golf stage. Words really can’t explain the feeling right now,” the 31-year-old Campbell stated.