The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

The country’s top junior golfers will again face off with the best in the region at the Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships.

The 31st edition of the tournament will be hosted July 2-7 at the Caymanas Golf & Country Club, Caymanas Estate, Jamaica.

A roster of five boys and four girls will contest the tournament and look to improve on last year’s finish.

The girls’ team is made up of Ashley Michel (15), Haylie Turnquest (15), Sophie Anand (14) and Tyesha Tynes (12). The boys’ list has Cameron Riley (18), Xavier Robinson (17), Dominic Greives (15), Saketh Hedge (15) and Matthew Deveaux (13).

“The Bahamas Junior National Team is comprised of seasoned and experienced junior players from throughout the Bahamas,” said Alena Hutcheson Chairperson of the BGF Junior Division. “We, the Bahamas Golf Federation are looking forward to seeing all of their hard work and dedication pay off at this year’s Championships. The Bahamas has one of its best teams to date and the juniors are gearing up to play to the best of their abilities for their country and families.

Champions

“Can you imagine having a team comprised of all skilled and low handicap players? It will be a great week for golf and for our country as the reigning junior national champions compete including the National Women’s Amateur Champion all of whom are golfers all with one untied goal: to win. This is what we have here with Team Bahamas and I couldn’t be more thrilled to help them in any way that I can before, during and after the event.”

On the girls side, Turnquest leads the charge as the 2017 and 2018 BGF Junior Girls National Champion. Michel will be representing the Bahamas for the fifth time and is the reigning Women’s National Amateur Champion and Girls Under 15 Champion. Anand will be making her third appearance as a member of Team Bahamas while Tynes will be making her second appearance.

Riley will serve as his year’s Team Captain and reigning Boy’s Junior National Champion and FAMU standout student-athlete.

“Representing your country in a sport is an amazing feat that very few people get to experience,” he said. “The pride and dignity that comes with being selected to a National Team Squad is an experience unmatched by any other feeling in the world.”

Robinson will be making his seventh appearance representing the Bahamas at the CAJGC. Hedge, the reigning Boys Under 15 National Champion, and Greives will both be making their second appearance as members of the Bahamas Junior National Team while Deveaux will make his debut.

In 2017, team Bahamas produced a pair of top three finishers against elite junior golf talent in the region at the 30th edition of the event, hosted at the St Andrews Golf Club in Maraval, Trinidad and Tobago.

Puerto Rico led the field from start to finish and claimed their 10th consecutive title.The best finishes for the Bahamas came from Turnquest and Anand as they both finished second in their respective divisions.