JAMAICA Golf Association staged its Heroes Golf Classic at Sandals Golf and Country Club (in St Ann) recently, with the inclusion of a special section, dubbed WAGR for World Amateur Golf Ranging, whereby selected golfers play 54 holes over two days instead of the normal three days. Those golfers had to play a gruelling 27 holes each day.

Zandre Roye topped the male section — which included twelve other golfers — after posting scores of par 71, one over par 72, and par 71 for a combined score of one over par 214.

Ohae Haye, who shot the lowest single-round score of two under par 69 in the first round, followed up with scores of one over par 72 and six over par 77 for a total score of five over par 218 to grab second place.

Pro golfer Orville Christie was one stroke back on 219 (74, 72, 73) in third place.

On the female side, junior golfer Mattea Issa also took up the WAGR challenge and ended with a combined score of 20 over par 233 after posting 83, 85 and 75 over the three rounds.

The players who competed in the WAGR section of the classic gained points towards their international ranking in the sport.

The other golfers in the classic played 18 holes each during the two-day event, with varying results.

William Lee was first in the Men’s and Men’s Senior 0-6 category, after posting nine over par 151 (77, 74). Kemari Morris was nine strokes back in second place on 18 over par 160 (84, 76).

The top three golfers in the men Super Senior 0-12 category were Keith Stein, one over par 143 with conservative scores of par 71 and one over par 72. Gregory Wright was 11 strokes back in second place on 154 (78, 76) while Mike Gliechman was another four strokes back on 158 (83, 75) in third place.

Desi Collins took the Men’s Super Senior 13-24 section after posting 44 over par 186 (94, 92).

The Masters section went to Carlyle Hudson 152, followed by Philip Wilson 171 and Winston Johnson 179.

Several ladies competed in the classic as well, playing two rounds. Diane Hudson, 193, won that section while Valerie Grant and Susan White were tied for second place after scoring 194 each over the 36 holes.

The junior golfers, who have not seen any competition since their Caribbean Championship in August, were invited to join the seniors — and some of them did so. Boys’ 15 and Under player Shasa Redlefsen scored 173 (90, 83) while Boys’ 11-13 player Jacob Schnoor scored 187 (98, 89). The other junior player to finish the classic was Girls’ 15 and Under player Alessandra Coe with a combined score of 171 (81, 90).

The Heroes Golf Classic was played a week early to allow Jamaica to defend the Caribbean Golf Association’s 4-Ball Championship which it has won for the past three consecutive years. That championship is scheduled for this weekend in Trinidad & Tobago.