Jamaica squeaked past Trinidad & Tobago on the final day of the sixth Caribbean Golf Association (CGA) Four-Ball Golf Championship at the Cinnamon Hill Golf Course in Montego Bay, St James, on October 12 to retain the country trophy — the Ambrose Gouthro Cup — by one point.

The Jamaicans, who hosted the championship for the first time since its inception, have won the Ambrose Gouthro Cup at every staging of the event.

This time around they denied Trinidad and Tobago, who were ahead by three points at the end of the second round. Jamaica earned 91 points for the win, to Trinidad and Tobago’s 90, while Bermuda grabbed third place with 79.

Jodi Munn-Barrow, who wore a number of hats during the championship including as secretary of the CGA, president of the Jamaica Golf Association (JGA) and ladies’ player in the 25 and over category, was very happy.

“I think overall it was good. The participants had a very good time. We got a lot of positive reviews from everybody that came and we’re very thankful that we got 92 players, far more than we’ve had in recent years. And very, very, very excited and somewhat humbled once again that team Jamaica came out on top.

“Trinidad gave us a fight but our A team went out there today and got in the valuable points and we’re able to finish first, and we’re very pleased about that,” she said.

Jamaica won the senior men’s category to take home the Francis & Steele-Perkins Cup (for men 50 and over) ahead of Bermuda by 13 shots. Jamaica ended the three-day championship on 12 under par 204, while Bermuda’s total was one over par 217.

Dr Mark Newnham, who has won the category all six times, teamed up with Owen Samuda for their third consecutive win. Their scores were one under par 71; seven under par 65; and four under par 68, for a combined total of 204.

“The special thing about this partnership is that Owen and I don’t spend a lot of time playing golf together. Owen is in the States most of the year. But there’s a chemistry, there’s a synergy, there’s a belief and trust in each other that just makes us play our best golf together,” he said.

“We wanted to defend the trophy at home. So I think we put ourselves under a little too much pressure the first day — we only shot one under. But then once we got a little relaxed we realised that we were only two strokes off the lead. And we shot a blistering seven under second day and the third day was almost an anticlimax,” said Newnham.

Samuda also expressed his satisfaction with the partnership.

“I’m very happy with my victory and I always feel good playing with Dr Newnham. When you have a partner like that, it doesn’t really bring too much pressure because no matter what you do we don’t get down on each other. We just pick ourselves up and move on and that’s what partnership is all about,” Samuda said.

T&T won three categories — the Maria Nunez Trophy for ladies 25 and over, the Ramon Baez Trophy for men 35 and over, and the Higgs and Higgs Trophy for men 60 and over.

Jamaica’s Jodi Munn-Barrow and Lisa Gardner were runners-up in the Maria Nunez category. They were also runners-up for the Ramon Baez Trophy.

Wayne Baptiste, vice president of both the CGA and T&T Golf Association, was impressed by the intense competition.

“We know that Jamaica are the reigning champions and we had to come very good. We [gave] them the fight to the wire, and they won by one point. We… were not as good today as was expected because we were leading by three points and we thought we’d have won some other categories to be able to be the overall champion. But, again, Jamaica is a tough team and they played well, and congratulations to them,” Baptiste said.

Bermuda grabbed the other two categories — the Dessie Henry Trophy for ladies 45 and over and the Asraph Ali Trophy.

The Jamaicans were runners-up for the Dessie Henry Trophy. Jamaica’s A team came fifth, while the B team came third in the Ashraph Ali Trophy category.

Jamaica teammates Owen Samuda (left) and Dr Mark Newnham (right) pose with their awards after topping the senior men category ahead of Bermuda during the Caribbean Golf Association Four-Ball Championship at Cinnamon Hill in Montego Bay St James, on October 12, 2025. Also pictured is Bahamas Golf Federation President Lynford Miller, who presented the winners’ trophy.