KINGSTON, Jan. 6 (JIS):
Local and international golf pros will compete for a US$100,000 purse at the 50th staging of the 2017 Jamaica Open Golf Championship.
The tournament, being organised by the Jamaica Golf Association, is slated to take place from January 11 to 14 at the Half-Moon Golf Course in Montego Bay.
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, welcomed the staging of the event.
In a message read by Senior Advisor, Ali McNab, at a press conference at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston on January 5, Ms. Grange commended the Jamaica Golf Association for “staying the course in its mission to foster the development of golf in Jamaica”.
“I want to also acknowledge the sterling effort being made by the association to develop junior golf in the country,” she added.
The tournament gets under way on Wednesday (January 11) with the opening ceremony and pro-am tournament, where local amateurs will have the opportunity to play with internationally recognised golf professionals from around the world. Each pro-am team will feature three amateurs matched with one pro golfer.
Thursday (January 12) will mark the start of three days of professional competition.
The organisers are expecting a full field of competitors, with most of the support coming from corporate Jamaica.
President of the Jamaica Golf Association, Peter Chin, said despite the financial costs associated with the staging of the event, the Jamaica Open remains a major event on the annual calendar of activities.
“We have a very rich tradition of golf in Jamaica. The Open, since its re-introduction in 2006, has attracted a number of top golfers. We have had players who have played on the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour, the nationwide tour and the Latin America Tour,” Mr. Chin noted.
He appealed to corporate Jamaica to assist in staging the Open which, he said, has the potential to become a major part of the country’s tourism product due to the potential to attract visitors.
Introduced in Jamaica in 1953, the Jamaica Open Golf Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious Caribbean golf tournament.
The 50th staging of the Jamaica Open has attracted Ryder Cup Stars and golf professionals from Latin, North and South America, the Caribbean and Europe.
This year’s event is being sponsored by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Half-Moon Hotel, Supreme Ventures Limited and Sports Development Foundation (SDF), among others.
CONTACT: ROCHELLE WILLIAMS