The Laws Street Trade Training Centre was the recipient of $1 million from the organisers of the 24th Alliance Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament.

The presentation was made last Saturday at the awards function for the tournament, which was held at Caymanas Golf Club in St Catherine.

Donald Chung, who collected the cheque on behalf of the charity, was very pleased and thankful for the funds.

“First of all, I would like to thank Alliance group for the fine donation again, which has been helping Sister [Benedict)]for the last 20 years. It means alot, because Sister feeds every week, regardless of the Christmas season, approximately four hundred families at Laws Street. This will give a little extra to the people at Christmas. They look forward to it every year, and it’s a blessing from Alliance,” he said.

Peter Chin, who wears many hats (president of title sponsor Alliance Investment Management, chairman of the Buccaneers, and president of the Jamaica Golf Association), also expressed his delight with the event.

“We are very happy with how the event went. We had record number of entries and we were able to achieve the goal of raising a million dollars for the Laws Street Trade Training Centre; so all in all it went very well,” he noted.

Justin Burrowes came home to defend his title but it was not to be, as William Knibbs won by four strokes. Burrowes ended in fourth position with a two-day total of 151 or eight strokes, behind Knibbs.

Knibbs led the Men’s and Men’s Senior (0-6 handicap) category on day one after being only one of two golfers to score 71 or one under par. Knibbs posted even par 72 on day two for a combined total of 143, or one under par, for the two days. His total included two birdies, one eagle, two bogeys and one double bogey.

“I was really happy with the win this weekend because it validated the hard work that I have been putting in for the past few weeks. I’d been struggling somewhat with my game for the last few months, so it was just nice to be able to pull off all the shots in competition,” said Knibbs.

National amateur golf champion Sean Morris recovered from sixth position on the first day to grab second place overall, after scoring 77 and 70, respectively, on days one and two. His tournament total was 147. He was one of three golfers who shot two under par 70 on the second day.

Zandre Roye, who was third, shot 79 and 71, respectively, for a two-day total of 150, or seven strokes off the leader.

The winner of the professional section was Wesley Brown, who also came home to compete in the tournament. He shot 73 and 70 for the win. Sean Green (147), just four strokes behind Brown, was in second place. He had scores of 77 and 70 over the two days. First-day leader Lloyd Campbell scored 71 and 77, for a combined score of 148, and placed third. The professional section was added to the tournament this year after a long layoff.

Perennial female winner Jodi Munn-Barrow played consistently to score 76 on both days (152) to take the Ladies category. She said that the conditions were good for golf on the weekend, but was rough in some areas. Michelle Gabay scored 88 and 81 for the two days (169) for second spot.

The Men’s and Men’s Senior (7-12 handicap) went to Philip Gooden, who carded 77 and 82 for a total score of 159. Second-placed Luke Lindo was seven strokes behind on 166 after scoring 83 on both days. Kristian Chin, 167, grabbed the third spot with scores of 82 and 85.

First-day leader in the Men’s Super Senior (7-12 handicap) section, Dorrel Allen dropped to sixth at the end of the two days with a combined total of 162. He shared the sixth position with Peter Chin, president of the Jamaica Golf Association.

The category winner was former JGA President Wayne Chai Chong with scores of 80 and 74 (154). Robert Chin was second on 155 (81, 74), while Teddy Alexander took the third spot on 158 (77, 81).

Several juniors did well during the tournament, including Ryan Lue (78), Aman Dhiman (83), Matthew Grant (86), Trey Williams (88), as well as Mattea Issa (91) and Winni Lau (93). Ryan Lue copped the Vitoria Marley Trophy after being adjudged the best junior golfer.

This year’s competition was played in memory of seven of Jamaica’s outstanding past national representatives — namely Milton “Buddy” Josephs, Izette Rhone, Lenan Lennie Chin, John Fulford, Al Chong, Claude Stewart and Mark Chin, former captain of the Buccaneers.

The associate sponsors were Island Concrete and AMG Packaging.