Maureen Barnes-Smith, vice-president of sales for Unique Vacations Canada, says organisers welcome the return of the Annual Canadian Travel Industry Golf Tournament to Jamaican shores after a two-year break due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, with promise that this year’s 26th staging will be a grand showpiece.

“Oh, it is exciting. I mean, it is just amazing. It [golf tournament] was literally sold out within three weeks of us putting it out as everybody was looking forward to it; first of all, getting back to Jamaica, getting back to Sandals, and also getting back to the golf tournament. It was a combination of all those three things,” Barnes-Smith told the Jamaica Observer.

Barnes-Smith said that this year’s tournament, which is presented by Sandals and Baxter Media, is extra special as they will be paying tribute to the late Edith Baxter, one of the founding members of the golf tournament.

“The unfortunate thing is that the person, the matriarch, Edith Baxter, is no longer with us as she passed away during COVID. This year is extra special because it is the first one [golf tournament] that we are going to do without her, and so it is very emotional for us. And so we are going to really try and pay homage to her during the tournament. ” Barnes-Smith explained.

“Aside from the fact that it’s the 26th annual event, we have some old timers who haven’t been here in maybe 10 years who are returning for the first time,” she added.

The Canadian Travel Industry Golf Tournament tees off 8:00 am Monday at the Sandals Golf and Country Club in Ocho Rios, St Ann.

A total of 17 teams, consisting of four players per team, will take part in the two-day scramble format tournament, which attracts nearly 100 participants, including golfers, other industry sponsors, and some of their companions.

The Best Dressed Halloween Team Spirit will be recognised on day one, and day two will see the tournament shirts and caps to be worn for team photos during the competition. Both are Sandals Foundation fund-raising events.

“We were the first company that brought a golf tournament, a travel industry golf tournament, to Canada. This is the 26th annual event and so we started it when no one was thinking about it and so Sandals and Baxter Travel Media were the first two companies.

“So they were used to going to hotels and just having sun, sea, and sand, so we wanted to bring the golf experience to them, and that’s how it all started. This is a way of showing another side of Jamaica and another side of Sandals,” Barnes-Smith explained.