Burrowes, Knibbs tee off in Latin America Amateur Golf Champs
Jamaica’s Justin Burrowes and William Knibbs will tee off today at the sixth Latin America Amateur Golf Championships (LAAC), which runs until Sunday at Mayakoba’s El Camaleon Golf Club in Riviera Maya, Mexico.
Burrowes will take to the course first and tee off at 8:18 am, while Knibbs will do so less than an hour later at 9:02 am.
They were invited to compete in the event by the LAAC executive committee on behalf of the Masters Tournament, The R&A, and the United States Golf Association, based on their position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Burrowes is ranked at 2159 while Knibbs is ranked at 2976.
Burrowes will be competing in the championships for the second-consecutive time, while Kinbbs will be making his first entry at the event.
In 2019 Burrowes’ best round of four under par 68 came on day-three when he tied for 23rd (217) but had a bad final round and ended the four days in 41st position on 295. That is now behind him as he looks forward to this year’s championships.
“I have been looking at the course and kind of analysing the course and coming up with a game plan just so I can have an idea of what to expect. Coming off last year I am sure that there will be expectations. I expect to do better and improve from last year,” he said.
According to debutant Knibbs, “[I am] really looking forward to this tournament, not only because it’s the first time I am going there but this is the biggest event in Latin America, so this is our region’s version of the US Am. …(my) goals for the week are to make the cut and then just finish as high up on the leaderboard as I possibly can.”
Jamaicans have been participating in the championships since it started in 2015. The island’s best-placed golfer in the tournament to date was Ian Facey, who tied for 24th in 2015 with a best round of 68 on the first day and a four-day total of 292 or four over par.
The championships will feature 108 golfers from the Latin American region. There is a cutline of the top 50 golfers at the end of the second day. Some of the competing countries are Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Argentina, Haiti, Chile, Costa Rica, The Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.
