MATTEA Issa and Zandre Roye won the National Golf Championships in their respective categories at the Half Moon Golf Course in Montego Bay recently.

They overcame high winds on the course over the three-day trials to book their place on the national team to the upcoming Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships.

Junior golfer Issa got the better of Jodi Munn-Barrow by seven shots after posting scores of seven over par 79 in the first round, three over par 75 for the second round, and even par 72 on the final day for an overall score of 10 over par 226.

Munn-Barrow played catch-up all three days. Her scorecard showed nine over par 89 for the first round, four over par 76 for round two, and another 76 on the final day to end on 17 over par 233.

“It really feels good to come out on top,” Issa said. “It’s always rewarding when the work you put in starts to show results.

“I think I handed a solid performance overall. My scores improved each round. I went +7, then +3, then shot even par so I was trending in the right direction. I definitely see areas I could have been sharper but I’m proud of how I handled the challenges out there. The conditions were really trough. The course was playing long and the wind made every shot a challenge.”

Roye upped his preparation by travelling to the venue ahead of the trials, to get ahead of the competition. Additionally he was dealing with the recent passing of his golf mentor Mike Bachstetz but he was able with the support of his peers Oshae Haye and Johann Campbell to overcome the challenges and top the trials leaderboard. He posted scores of four over par 76, two over par 74, and five over par 77 for a combined score of 11 over par 227 to win by one stroke.

“I went out there and did what I needed to do, and finished,” Roye said. “I didn’t finish as strongly as I wanted to but I was tied for the lead after the first day so, that’s always a good thing. Went out the second day and built on that. Two shots better than the first day. I’m still in a good position for the third day.”

His final round was the decider.

“Going into the back nine on the third day, I kind of didn’t play the front nine as well on the last day. So, going into the back nine, I just try to keep my head in the game, keep my composure, make good bogies where, where I put myself out of position on the tee shots and just try to make as much pars as possible.”

Second-placed Aman Dhiman was just one shot behind, on 228, while Camden Purboo (230) in third place scored the best single round score of one under par 71 (for the amateur players) in the second round. Trey Williams (231) was next, followed by Sean Morris (232), recently crowned national champion Ryan Lue, and former national champion Oshae Haye, who both scored 18 over par 234.

The golfers on trial were joined by local professionals. Delroy McDonald and Sebert Walker Jr topped the pros by scoring 228 each. McDonald’s score included one under par 71 in the second round.

Former national amateur champion Jonathan Newnham was two strokes back on 230, while the day one leader for the pros, Orville Christie, ended on 235.