ORGANISERS of the fourth staging of Sandals Golf and Jerk Festival say it was the best staging so far, because of changes to last year’s format.

This year’s event took place on Saturday, and 80 juniors and experienced golfers competed in teams of two in junior-junior, adult-adult, and junior-adult categories. The course at Sandals Upton Estate Golf and Country Club in Ocho Rios, St Ann, was split into three sections that hosted three golf formats, to make the game fun for all.

One of the most popular features this year was that the jerk festival was brought to the course, so golfers could experience the cuisine as they played.

“The quality of golf was great,” organiser Jonathan Newnham said. “This is something that’s never really been done before. It’s gotten them to experience some fun and have some jerk along the way. The feedback has been great and this was truly one of a kind. Next year we’re going to make it even better.”

Cavani James, 12 years old, and his teammate Tajay Lobban were the overall tournament champions.

Newnham was especially pleased because, for him, it meant their grass roots golf programme was paying off.

“It was a great day, and it was particularly thrilling for me to see that young Cavani James— who teamed up with one of our graduates of our junior programmes, Tajay Lobban — ended up winning the tournament,” he said. “It shows that the programme is building strong competitors, so that was awesome to see.”

The festival benefited the nearby St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital, Port Maria Hospital; and the Care for Kids Junior Golf Programme.

Sandals Foundation Executive Director Heidi Clarke says this festival always reminds us that health must remain a priority.

“The idea behind the golf tournament is obviously bringing together family and friends to be out here for a great cause, which is always looking at health first,” she said. “That’s all about engaging young people — both boys and girls — regularly in golf and mentorship.

“We were looking at the urology department — they’ll be getting new equipment. Really and truly, they just needed to have more equipment to be able to do what they do and do it well.

Clarke is excited as she sees yearly improvement in the festival.

“This year was one of the best,” she said. “The whole jerk festival part of it was a big thing too. We were able to put the jerk competition on the golf course, so people were able actually to sample while they were out there. But, more than that, we were able to pair professional chefs with HEART/NSTA Trust’s hospitality students [from Runaway Bay, in the parish]. So they really got an opportunity to be mentored and see what it’s like to be in a competition and to work with some of the Sandals chefs.”