The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE seasoned team of Harry Fountain and Fred Wright carted off the first gross crown in the second annual King Eric Memorial Golf Tournament.

Yesterday’s one-day event at the Lyford Cay Golf Course saw the first time local partnership of Kelsey Rolle and George Swann, who have played together internationally, secure the top net honours.

Following the tournament, the golfers gathered at Bahama Grill where they were dined and presented with their prizes, which included gifts from major sponsors Diamond International.

The first prize was presented to Fountain and Wright for their gross score of 66.

“We went out there and decided to have a good time,” Fountain said. “I relied on Mr Wright for the initial shots. He made the initial shots and I came back and did the clean up. He did very well on his initial shots.

“There was one or two shots out there that we should have made, but we made everything in possession that we should have made.”

It helped too that the duo spent a great deal of time playing on the course with D Shane Gibson and Chris Harris, so they were familiar with their surroundings.

“But Harry played very well today. He hit the ball long,” Wright said. “All Harry wanted me to do was put it in the fairway and he went for it. We had fun and we enjoyed it.”

With the tournament being held in memory of the late, legendary King Eric Gibson, both Fountain and Wright said they owe it to their mentor, who made it possible for them and many others to be able to play golf in the Bahamas.

“Anything for King we will do,” Wright noted. “We went to Eleuthera last week for the regatta that was held in his honour and so it was only fair that we came here and play in this tournament for the great King Eric.”

For Rolle and Swann, who took the top net prize with 65.2, it was a joy to team up to defeat the rest of the field.

“We had our struggles early and as we got to the back nine, we got our second breath and we were good to go,” Rolle said. “We should have won the event itself, but we struggled early.

“We had one bogey in the round of golf and it was one too many. Our putts for birdie were too long. We should have knocked them in a lot closer, but we accept the first net. The most difficult hole was 10 where we walked of with a bogey. We should have parred the hole. If we did, we would won have.”

Despite the loss, Rolle and Swann had some success together, playing in an Am Tour in the United States and in Las Vegas twice where there they actually won a title.

“I have to be satisfied with the performance. I’m not playing that well right now and Kelsey is not either,” Swann said. “I’m pleased with what we did. We could have done a little bit better. We played one round together yesterday (Saturday), so it was good to get us ready for today (Sunday).”

Following in order of finish in the net category were Eric Gibson Jr and Bill Casale for second with 65.7; Lee Brice and Ural Pratt, third with 66.5; Richard Gibson Jr and Bob Hudson, fourth with 67.7; Chris Harris and Shane Gibson, fifth with 67.7; Kevin Marche and Steve Wallace, sixth with 68.7; Georgette Rolle and Whitney Patton, seventh with 69.3; Michael Hopper and Eric Gibson III, eighth with 69.6; Horace Miller and Oswald Moore, ninth with 69.8 and Paul Major and Felix Stubbs, tenth with 70.2.

In the special prizes category, Kelsey Rolle was the closest to the pins at the second hole, Granville Rolle on the 8th, Bob Hudson on the 11th and Austin Knowles on the 17th. Richard Gibson Jr had the longest drive on both the 5th and 24th holes and Georgette Rolle took the ladies’ honor on the 13th.

Gibson, the Member of Parliament for Golden Gates and the Minister of Labour and National Insurance, said their father was instrumental in making sure that persons in the Bahamas got access to playing golf here and that is one of the reasons why they saw fit to keep his memory alive.

“He was very instrumental in establishing and promoting the junior golf throughout the country,” he said. “He was somebody who played a pivotal role in the development of our national teams.

“He made the national team on a number of occasions as a Hoerman Cupper and as a senior and super senior, so we just wanted to find a way to keep his memory, his dream and his legacy alive and so we are very appreciative of everyone who sponsored this tournament again.”

Chynella Cunningham, the Human Resources Manager at Diamonds International, said when they were approached by Shane Gibson to sponsor the tournament, there was no way that they couldn’t do so.

“This is our seconds year in doing the tournament,” Cunningham said. “Like everyone who call us and ask us about sponsorship, we are more than happy, if we believe it is a worthy cause, and it’s going to help the young people, we were more than happy to play our part.”

Cunningham said she was more than inspired to see the amount of youngsters that participated in the tournament and she was even more impressed with the fact that the organizers presented the Bahamas Golf Federation with a cheque of $10,000 to assist their junior development programme.