The 19th US Travel Advisors Golf Tournament served up some fierce action on the opening day of competition at the Sandals Golf and Country Club in Upton, St Ann, in what has become a much-anticipated showcase of Jamaica’s golf tourism product.

Developed as a showcase of Sandals’ and by extension, Jamaica’s world-class golf facilities as a means of promoting the destination to golf lovers, the tournament is obviously also bringing out the competitive edge among some of the top travel agents based in the United States. Thursday’s opening rounds saw the team of Pete Drab, Damon Spady, Megan Sams and Scott Austin (58) ending the session with a three-shot lead over Lauren Rotureau, James Rotureau, Nicole Copare and Terry Stohs (61).

Things are even tighter further down the leaderboard with the teams of Adam Anderson, David Anderson, David Schutz and Jeremy Lee as well as Craig Mansperger, Angela Mansperger, Ro Gallo and Mike Tipple tied for third place on a score of 62, leaving all to play for on today’s final day of competition.

Jake Coldiron, national manager for golf sales at Sandals, is thrilled with the feedback being received from the agents and believes that the competition continues to position the brand as a premier provider of top-class golf amenities for travellers to the island.

“So this year at the 2023 19th Annual Travel Advisor USA Golf Tournament, we have 17 teams of four, each group has four travel advisors [from all over the United States]. When it comes to participant’s feedback, it has been awesome,” Coldiron told the Jamaica Observer.

“First of all, the event is being held at Sandals Dunn’s River, a brand new resort that was open a few months ago. We could not be more proud to have it here, the staff has been incredible and when it comes to the golf course at Upton Estate Golf and Country Club, we have, I think, the best caddies out there. It’s run by Johnathan Newman and his team. He does an excellent job and the course is in great condition. We just finished day one and we are all looking forward to a great day two of golf,” he added.

Coldiron pointed to the high quality of the facilities in Upton and singled out the team of caddies as standout features.

“There are multiple golf courses on the island, we actually have the only one in Ocho Rios. I think Upton Estate Golf and Country Club is one of the best golf courses in Jamaica and one of the best in the Caribbean,” said Coldiron. “We are an 18-hole championship resort-style golf course up in the mountains of Ocho Rios and we have been around for a very long time.”

Proceeds from the competition will once again benefit the Sandals Foundation and its programmes, which include a vibrant junior golf initiative.