Bahamas to host Caribbean Golf Tournament

Local team hoping to dominate competition

The best golfers in the Caribbean will descend on The Bahamas next month for the highly anticipated 60th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships.

President of the Bahamas Golf Federation Glen Archer said golfers from Jamaica, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico will go head to head at Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island.

 Approximately 90 golfers will participate in the competition, which will take place on July 24 to 29.

The event is expected to draw scores of regional golf enthusiasts and supporters.

“This event is being held in The Bahamas on a reduced competition format,” Archer said.

“In other words, it’s an event to showcase the best of the best. This competition will be limited to regular golfers, the best of the best.”

Archer said The Bahamas is hoping to put on a good showing and encouraged Bahamians to support the team.

The Bahamian contingent will consist of six men, competing for the Herman Cup for regular golfers and four women, who will compete for the George Teale Cup.

“Golf is a game of the mind. Golfers do better when they’re comfortable and supported,” Archer said. “So I think we are going to do very well.

“We have a well-rounded team a good mixture of young and experienced players who have been in the tournament before.” 

Archer said the federation wants to see The Bahamas return to its “glory days” in the sport.

“The last time we won this event was back in year 2000,” he said. “That’s when it was held in Barbados.

“In the past we were really a dominant force when the competition included a category for aged men. We dominated that category.

“It’s fair to say that our performance during those years was directly related to golf facilities that were available. 

“We are now trying to revitalize that with the facility at the sports center. We expect that with the reemergence of available facilities, The Bahamas will once again become a bigger force.”

Archer said during the opening ceremony for the championship, Bahamian golfer Fred Higgs will be inducted into the Caribbean Golf Association (CGA) Hall of Fame. Additionally, Peter Hall and Ambrose Gouthro will be recognized by the CGA. 

There will be no charge for entry to the championships, Archer said.