By Elton Tucker, Assistant Sport Editor
Lyn
THE JAMAICA Women's George Teale Trophy team provided the lone spark on an otherwise gloomy opening day for the island at the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships (CAGC) in San Juan, Puerto Rico yesterday.
Trophy stalwarts Maggie Lyn, with a six-over 78, and Jodi Munn, with a 79, have Jamaica in second place after day one of the four-day regional event being staged at the Westin Rio Mar Ocean course.
However, they are already five strokes behind hosts Puerto Rico and face a stiff task hauling in the likes of Janice Olivencia - 75, Maria del Mar Colon - 77 and Karen Calvesbert - 84. A team's top two Trophy scores count each day; Jamaica's other women's representative, Ava Lee, shot an 87.
The six-man Hoerman Cup team (from which four scores count) had a day best forgotten. Its four "best" scores placed it in seventh position with a 29-over 317 - an ominous 20 strokes behind red-hot leaders Puerto Rico.
Jason Garbutt was the best of the Jamaicans with a five-over 77, which sees him tied for 11th individually. He was followed by John Smith (79), Philip Prendergast (80) and Xavier Rose (81) as the scorers of record. Newly-crowned National champion Michael Scott also shot 81 while Paul Thompson, the young shining light at last year's CAGC - along with Rose, carded an 85.
Definitely the round of the day belonged to Puerto Rico's Mauricio Muniz who shot a superb three-under 69. He leads the Men's individual standings by two strokes from James Johnson of Barbados.
The team's Higgs and Higgs Cup Superseniors duo of Herman McDonald and Sydney Fletcher are sixth after the opening round with a two-ball better ball tally of 75. The US Virgin Islands (one-under 71) hold a stroke lead over the Puerto Ricans.a
The Men's Seniors dawdled in late yesterday and there was more disappointing news for Jamaica as Dennis Atkinson and Francis Delgado could only manage a three-over 75 in the two-ball better ball Francis-Steele Perkins Cup to be tied for seventh and trailing leaders the US Virgin Islands by six shots.
Ten countries are competing at the event.
