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| Bahamian junior golfers set to tee off |
Kelsie Johnson
Guardian Sports Reporter kelsie@nasguard.com
Published: Jun 28, 2012
The Bahamas’ nine-member junior national golf team will hit the greens for the last time today, before heading to the Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships. The team will have Friday off and leave for the Dominican Republic on Saturday, for the championships which are set to be held at the Guavaberry Golf and Country Club, July 1-6. This is the first regional competition for the year for Team Bahamas. Despite that, president of the Bahamas Golf Federation (BGF) James Gomez is confident that they will do very well, and that the limited access to golf courses in New Providence will not hinder their performances on the greens. He said: “We are expecting great things from the team. They look very good. I must say the limited access to the courses is a factor but it hasn’t played a big part in their play, and we are thankful for that. We are grateful to the persons over at the Ocean Club who have allowed the team to train there. We had the trials in Freeport and some positive things came from that. We are looking forward to several of the players stepping up and leading the team.” The official team was named two weeks ago, after the junior national trials, that were held in Grand Bahama. Even though Gomez has launched his support behind the team, he noted that The Bahamas’ chances in the under-17 boys division are not that strong. Harrison Collins is the sole flag bearer for The Bahamas in that division. The Bahamas will not be represented in the girls 16-17 division, and only Inecia Rolle will compete in the girls 11-13 division. The trio of Brian Coakley Jr., Lucas Echeverri and Asif Robinson will compete in the boys 14-15 division while Asiyah Robinson and Denier Weech will tee off in the girls 14-15 division. The two competitors in the boys’ 11-13 division are Ryan Coerbell and Xavier Robinson. “We are in a rebuilding stage, so only one person will represent The Bahamas in the under-17 boys’ division and that is Harrison Collins,” said Gomez. “Next year, you should a very strong under-17 division. Some of the boys from the under-15 division will be moving up, so right now, you will say that our under-15 team is very strong and most of the load will be placed on them. “Overall, we are looking for good results and the players are very confident. They are not letting the limited access to the courses get to them, but it is difficult on the federation because that in itself assists with funding. Funding is difficult to get at this time and we can only rely on the government, to some extent, and other private donors at this time. Golf in itself is not a sustaining federation simply because we have nothing tangible to offer our members.” The Senior Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships will swing into action August 6, and will continue until August 12, at the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club, in St. Kitts and Nevis. The selected team will be announced in the coming weeks by the BGF. |
