THE 22nd Sandals US Travel Advisors Golf Tournament is proving that the best way to sell Jamaica may be to experience it first-hand.

With 160 travel advisors from the United States participating in this year’s event, including 100 who competed in the two-day golf tournament at Upton Estate Golf and Country Club, Sandals has used the gathering to showcase not only its resorts and golf product, but the wider Jamaican experience.

For Jake Coldiron, Sandals’ national manager, golf sales and land sports, the 22nd staging has been the biggest and, in his estimation, the best yet.

“This has been, I think, the best golf tournament ever,” Coldiron told the Jamaica Observer. “This is our 22nd annual tournament and it’s also our largest travel advisor golf tournament that we have had as well.”

“It’s been nothing but positive outcomes, positive responses. We had so many travel advisors who just fell in love with the golf course and the caddies,” added Coldiron, “so we are, for sure, enhancing the golf product every year. Every year there are more and more travel advisors selling golf but this year, specifically, we’ve seen so many travel advisors interested in golf, wanting to grow their business, booking future golfers.”

Eighty of the participating travel advisors were attending a Sandals golf tournament for the first time.

“They want to come down here, they want to learn the golf products,” Coldiron said. “They came down to experience the resorts, the food, the caddies, so they can go back and sell it to their clients.”

For Sandals, that first-hand experience is crucial.

“Seeing is believing,” Coldiron said. “It’s hard for a travel advisor to sell Jamaica or sell the golf course if they’ve never experienced it.”

COLDIRON…they want to come down here, they want to learn the golf products…They came down to experience the resorts, the food, the caddies, so they can go back and sell it to their clients (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

On the course, Team Nicklaus, which featured Megan Sams, James Rotoreau, Lauren Rotoreau and Alan Granza, emerged as the overall champions, after producing the best combined score over the two rounds.

Nicklaus shot 60 on Friday’s opening day and 59 on Saturday, for a winning total of 119.

Team Palmer (Christopher Cirella, Joey Alfonso, Amanda Veith and Bing Alfonso) finished second with 129, following rounds of 65 and 64; while Team Watson (Clint Finch, Carlie Finch, Roger Litterini and Mandy Litterini) placed third on 131, with scores of 65 and 66.

The leading three teams were rewarded with more than bragging rights.

Coldiron said the first-, second- and third-place teams will receive invitations to compete in the 2027 Global Golf Tournament.

That opportunity adds another layer of incentive to an event that already blends competition and charity with destination promotion.

Sams, whose business is based in St Augustine, Florida, said the tournament also provides a valuable opportunity for advisors to exchange ideas about how best to market Jamaica to their clients.

“It’s fun to come together to kick around ideas on how to bring clients here and continue to be successful,” she said, adding that she has led several successful golf trips to the island.

James Rotoreau, who hails from Savannah, Georgia, praised the condition of the Upton Estate course.

“This is a top-notch course,” he said. “Sandals has done an awesome job keeping this course up; the greens are great, the caddies are tremendous.”

The caddies have also emerged as an important part of the Sandals golf experience.

Caddie Zandre Roye said several of the travel advisors have been returning to Jamaica for years, and specifically request him when they return.

Junior golfer Cavani James (left) gets ready to drive under the watchful gaze of head golf professional Bill Williams, during the Sandals US Travel Advisor Golf Tournament at the Upton Estate Golf and Country Club on Saturday, September 12, 2026. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

“I have known a few of them for a few years,” Roye said. “Every year they come back they always request me, so they are like family.”

“I know their game; I just try to maximise on that and take it one shot at a time,” he said.

For Sams, the ultimate test of the product is what happens when the travel advisors return home and start selling Jamaica to their clients.

“It’s such a great opportunity to get to an amazing country, great resort, and play a good golf course,” she said.

While the tournament is designed to drive business, it has also maintained a strong philanthropic component.

Proceeds from the tournament support the Sandals Foundation and its Care for Kids Junior Golf Programme, which uses the sport as a vehicle to provide young people with mentorship, opportunities, discipline, and life skills.

The programme, which has been operating at the course for more than two decades under the guidance of golf professional Bill Williams, has helped young people from disadvantaged backgrounds develop their golfing abilities while exposing them to opportunities beyond the sport.

This year’s tournament also raised US$4,875 ($774,000) for charity.

The growth of the US travel advisors tournament comes as Sandals continues to see increasing interest in golf among its travel advisor network. The 2026 US tournament was also shaped by the high occupancy levels across the Sandals portfolio following last year’s Hurricane Melissa disruptions which resulted in guests being relocated among available resorts with limited room access, resulting in the absence of the brand’s other two travel advisor golf tournaments — the Canadian and Latin American competitions.

Coldiron, however, said all three regional tournaments are scheduled to return in 2027.