WITH female golfers now said to be the key driver of the sport’s growth, president of Jamaica Golf Association (JGA) Jodi Munn-Barrow is greatly optimistic that their recent success at the 65th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship will provide the proverbial shot in the arm — in particular, where coverage and financial support is concerned.

Munn-Barrow’s comments came as she continues to celebrate the mostly young female team winning the George Teale Trophy, and the combined runner-up finish for the Arthur Ziadie Trophy during the championship in the Turks & Caicos Islands. She believes it speaks volumes, given the accomplihsment came against more illustrious opponents.

“I am hopeful that with this achievement, golf in general, can garner more coverage in the media and possible more corporate support. It is difficult to be a non-traditional sport and compete globally with limited resources. Our record in the Caribbean is very good when compared to having to compete against countries like Puerto Rico that have more access and more resources than we do,” she told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview.

Though it was the country’s sixth lien on the ladies’ trophy, it was the first since 2006 and the first for the youthful team of Emily Mayne, 17; Mattea Issa, 15; Cameron March and Winnie Lau, who combined for a 34 over par 466 in securing a 12-shot win over last year’s champion and perennial winner Puerto Rico. The men placed fourth in their battle for the Hoerman Cup.

Munn-Barrow, who had a hand in Jamaica’s five previous ladies’ titles, pointed out that the achievement also augurs well for the junior programme, which she is hopeful will attract more females.

Golf has been thought of as a boys’ club for obvious reason, as women have only recently been allowed to join some clubs internationally. Despite this, Munn-Barrow alluded to the fact that the fastest-growing segment of the game right now is the female segment, though it hasn’t really been reflected in Jamaica or the Caribbean.

“It is a tremendous achievement for our girls! This is coming from their spectacular performance at the Caribbean Juniors, and now to perform again at the Caribbean Seniors is quite an accomplishment that has not been done for a long time. I am hoping that this will spur an increase in the number of girls that take up the sport because we really need to have more girls and ladies playing the game,” Munn-Barrow said.

“It is usually a different mindset between [ladies and men’s] golf with how they approach the game. The women usually have a tendency to play within themselves whereas many of the men sometimes get ahead of themselves, meaning that they think out the shots a bit more and do not try things that may not work out in the end,” she added in assessing how the ladies handle the conditions.

For Mayne, who captained the triumphant team, the achievement is one worth savouring and which she too hopes will positively impact the sport going forward.

“I believe this amazing achievement for not only the ladies, but the team on a whole placing second overall will show the country that golf is a prominent sport in Jamaica — and hopefully this will also urge young kids to pick up the sport as it gives them amazing new experiences and opportunities to travel the world,” said Mayne who got involved in the sport at age seven.

“So going forward I hope these continuous wins and excellent performances will lead to golf getting more recognition in Jamaica, and hopefully the Jamaica Golf Association will get more support from outside sources,” she added.

Mayne, who attends Albany Golf Academy in Nassau, The Bahamas, posted a three-day total of 235 which placed her fifth on the individual leader board.

Issa, who was seventh with a combined total of 241, was also over the moon.

“It has been a while since the ladies have won a title so it serves as inspiration to others and adds to that determination we have as a team to win the overall title. The support within the team was incredible and it really pushed us through those tough conditions,” the 15-year-old who also attends Albany Golf Academy said.

“It is great to be a Jamaican woman athlete right now as we are doing so well in many different sports. Hopefully, this win inspires women to be more involved in golf and sports in general. For me, I would like to make it to the collegiate level and see where this journey takes me,” Issa said.

On that note, Munn-Barrow said she has high expectations for the sport going forward, starting with the upcoming events.

“We will continue to focus on our junior golf development as the sport will not continue to excel without this,” the president declared.

“There are a few more tournaments coming up with the Caribbean Golf Association 4-Ball Team Championships in October and then our prestigious Jamaica Open in November. We are hoping to have two very successful events,” she ended.