The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IN his second trip to the 2023 Latin American Amateur Championships, Richard Gibson Jr finally got the international breakthrough he was looking for, making the cut in the four-day tournament in Puerto Rico.

His team-mate, teenager Healthcliffe Kane Jr, fell short of making the cut after he shot his first two rounds of 77-78 for a total score of 155. The pair, however, had the pleasure of serving as the caddie for each other at the Grand Reserve Golf Club.

The duo, according to Bahamas Golf Federation president Lynford Miller, got the invitation in the championships, which saw Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira swept to a record-breaking victory with a 23-under-par total of 265 for a new course record and an invitation to the 2023 Masters Tournament.

Out of a field of 108 players, Gibson Jr finished tied for 19th with Justin Hastings of the Cayman Islands, Yadhu Urs of Saint Lucia and Ian Aldarondo Hernandez, who all shot three-under-par 285. Gibson Jr shot rounds of 73-71-71-70.

“I feel awesome about my performance,” said Gibson Jr, the operation assistant at the Royal Blue Golf Club at Baha Mar. “Going into this year, I asked God to show me a sign to let me know if I should continue to chase my dreams. This was my greatest achievement by the grace of God.”

The 31-year-old Gibson Jr said the competition was extremely tough between the players from the Latin American and Caribbean countries and so he was delighted to be right up there with the leaderboard.

He noted that Kane Jr played his best in the first two rounds, but he didn’t make the cut.

“He asked me to caddie for him and I’m glad that I did,” Gibson Jr said. “He also caddied for me in my last two rounds. There were some holes that I debated on, and he had encouraged me to go for it.

“It was a par-four on hole number three where they moved the tees up and made it drivable and I was debating it and he said, ‘just hit it, even if you miss right because most of the shots I missed were from the right.’ I trusted him and I hit it right in the middle and made the putt for eagle. It was a pleasure having him on my bag.”

Before he left for the trip, Gibson Jr said he was advised by a number of golfers that if he can get off the tees properly, he could make the cut. So said, so done as he claimed that he did it perfectly.

“For the most part, I got off the tees perfectly and was able to shoot good numbers, so I just need to get better at that and just cease the opportunities when it comes,” he said. “The thing about golf is you could always do better.”

Later this year, Gibson Jr said he has a few more international tournaments to participate in this year and so he’s hoping that he can correct the mistakes he made and improve on his scores posted over the weekend.

Although he didn’t make the cut, Kane Jr said he was pleased to play again for Team Bahamas.

“I had some mental issues that I had to deal with on the passing of my grandfather,” he said. “But I’m happy that I didn’t go by myself. I think Richard helped me a lot to get through the rounds.”

Kane Jr, a 19-year-old graduate of an online school, said he was happy that Gibson Jr made the cut because it proved that he has the ability to compete against his peers in the region.

“I hope to play more events and hopefully my coach can help me to get in some more swing work,” Kane Jr said. “I know I can play at this level too.”

Miller, in looking at the results from the tournament, said the players are getting better every year they play.

“Our athletes are now being developed using a programme we started about two or three years ago and so the results are starting to show,” Miller said.

“Hopefully next year, we will have more players ranked and invited to go and show more great performances.

“There were a lot of players from Latin America and the Caribbean, who played in this tournament. I think there were just two Cayman Islands players from the Caribbean who was ahead of Richard, so we know they can play. One of the Cayman players won this tournament last year.”

Devaughn Robinson, who is currently playing in the Korn Ferry’s Great Exuma Classic this week in Exuma, was the last Bahamian to make the cut before he turned pro.