By Tym Glaser,
Associate Editor - Sport
BIDS FOR places on Jamaica's team to this year's Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships in the US Virgin Islands get underway today with the first round of National Trials at the Constant Spring Golf Club.
A change of format this year will see two rounds at Constant Spring (today and tomorrow) and two more over the weekend at usual hosts Caymanas Golf and Country Club.
The final two rounds will also feature the Smirnoff 36 tournament. Over the past few years, the staging of the Trials at Caymanas was criticised for giving regular players of that course an advantage. The move to incorporate Constant Spring this year should appease players of that course but is still likely to draw the ire of golfers based outside of St. Andrew and St. Catherine.
Regular faces including national champion John Smith, the in-form Owen Samuda, Mike Gleichman, Philip Prendergast and Michael Scott are the frontrunners for berths on the six-man Hoerman Cup team but impressive Constant Spring-based youngsters Paul Thompson and Xavier Rose could surprise after superb performances at last weekend's Jamaica Golf Association's Labour Day 36 event at that course.
Playing in the Juniors, Thompson carded a three-over 143 which was four strokes better than Men's section winner, Samuda. Rose, also a Junior, shot 148 over the two days.
National champion Maggie Lyn, Caribbean champion Jodi Munn and Leiza Blakeley would appear to have a lock on the three George Teale Trophy team places but another youngster looms as a darkhorse in that section. Rapidly-improving Tiffany Terrier, who won the Caribbean Junior Champion-ships 12 and Under section last year, could sneak up on the big three - particularly over the final two rounds at Caymanas.
Dennis Atkinson, Cleo Taylor, Bill Telling, Hansel Williams, Tony Gooden, Francis Delgado and Fred Sutherland look the class of the Seniors field from which three will be chosen for the Francis Steele and Perkins Trophy side.
The usual suspects are also likely to surface in the Super Seniors: Lindy Delapenha, Ossie Lee, Herman McDonald, Mike Vicens and Sydney Fletcher. Two will make the trip to the USVI in August as the Higgs and Higgs combination.
Action starts today at 7:30.
