Defending champion Johnny Bloomfield will lead all challengers when the LIME Jamaica Open Golf Champion-ship tees off at the Half Moon Golf Course in Montego Bay tomorrow morning at 8:00.

The 54-hole tournament will be officially opened today, a day ahead of the champion-ship which is slated to end on Saturday.

This year's entry list shows 63 participants, one more than last year. The golfers hail from the USA, Canada, Scotland, Italy, Switzerland, Barbados, Cayman Islands and Jamaica.

Pay-outs

The LIME Jamaica Open will cost US$100,000 to stage, while the total prize money is US$70,000. The pay-out is as follows: first US$14,000, second US$8,000, third US$5,500, fourth US$4,000, fifth US$3,000 and sixth US$2,600. The entry fee is US$500 for professionals and US$250 for amateurs.

Bloomfield stood atop the leader board from day one and led each day until the end of the championship last year, finishing ahead of Dermott (Paul) Warren by nine strokes - with a six under par 210 score at the end of the championship. He carded daily rounds of 71, 68 and 71 on the 72-par course to add to the title he won in 2006 and claim the top cash award of US$15,000. There was no competition in 2007.

Warren, a local-based pro-fessional who entered the Jamaica Open for the first time last year, will also be back to challenge Bloomfield for the title, as well as Michael Bennett, who placed fourth last year.

Warren, who took home US$10,000 for placing second last year, has been a member of the PGAJ since 1996. He represented Jamaica at the Nations Cup in 2003, 2006 and 2008 and was the PGAJ's champion golfer in 2003 and 2008. He has a low score of 65 (seven under par) at Half Moon.