Sandals Golf and Jerk Festival tournament organiser Jonathan Newnham is pleased with the mental strength shown by youngsters during its qualifiers at the weekend.

With the Sandals Golf and Jerk Festival taking place at the Sandals Golf Club in Ocho Rios, St Ann, on June 15, anticipation is heightened for participation, meaning a qualifying tournament was needed for junior golfers, with the top three earning their spot at the festival.

Newnham says a tournament allowed a fair selection process and gave the youngsters more playing time as they have to stay sharp for a busy summer.

“We have several juniors in our programme we want to play and we can’t always accommodate everybody so we wanted to make it fair and objective for those who are able to play — to have a fun event to have them earn their place,” he said.

Cavani James, 12, took the top spot with 75 points, followed by Jerone Thomas in second on 66, and Tyreek Smith third on 58.

With stakes high, Newnham says it was expected that the 13 juniors competing had to show steely nerves to overcome the challenges on the day.

“They had some struggles throughout,” he said. “I don’t enjoy seeing them struggle but I enjoy seeing them push through and persevere. This will bode them well not just for this tournament but for others coming up — that ability to withstand the pressure and continue will be a great life skill as well.

“It was very windy during the event, so it was a good test for them for them to channel the emotions and stay focused. It was good though. Most of them are here every week, so they tested their skills in a variety of conditions that we experience here on the island.”

The tournament will feature teams of two in junior-junior, adult-adult, and junior-adult divisions but will also have what Newnham describes as fun categories. He expects even greater numbers wanting to compete this year and is asking persons interested to complete registration early.

“It will be a great, fun event. Everybody knows six-a-side on a football field but we’re actually having six-a-side golf,” he said. “We’re breaking the course up into three sections of six in which we’ll have the different fun formats — alternate shots, better ball scramble, amazing prizes, amazing hole-in-one prizes as well. So, it’s going to be a great fun day and we’re looking forward to a full field.”