Organisers give thumbs up to JGA Open Championships
TRYALL, Hanover — The organisers of the recent staging of the 55th Jamaica Golf Association Open championships at the Tryall Club in Hanover were pleased with the four-day event that ended on Tuesday afternoon.
American Patrick Cover held on to win his second title on an exciting final day of the 54-hole tournament, one of the best in years, despite jitters because of poor weather that threatened the event.
Peter Chin, chairman of the organising committee, admitted to the Jamaica Observer that rains which started on Friday, the day before the Pro-Am, and continued to early Sunday, the first day of the tournament, made them anxious.
“We got nervous with the weather,” Chin said on Tuesday’s final day as the tournament drew to a close, saying the rain was both a blessing and a threat.
“There was relatively no rain in Montego Bay for the previous two weeks, which helped us with the preparation of the course; and if we were not so well prepared ahead of time we would have been in trouble as we got a lot of rains between Saturday and Sunday,” he said.
The Pro-Am on Saturday was affected by the weather and there was a 45-minute break in play on Sunday morning as the rain persisted, but Chin told the Observer, “The tournament went very well. Most of the players love it and told us they plan to return — and that augurs well for us.”
As for how they plan to improve the event, Chin said they polled the players, some of whom play on major tours. “We ask them how we can improve the product and we take the suggestions on board where possible — and it works as we get a lot of players coming back.”
Cover, who had won in 2019, is one of those who wants to return.
“It’s great, I love coming down to Jamaica! I love this golf course and I plan to come back for as long as I can. It’s a great tournament,” he commended.
Jodi Munn-Barrow, the JGA president, was happy with another successful staging, she said.
“We are very excited by what we saw here. As I indicted before the start, we had some very good names playing and so we expected an exciting event.”
— Paul Reid
