The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BY virtue of making the cut for the 2023 Latin American Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, Richard Gibson Jr has secured a berth in the British Amateur Championship.

The championships, now in its 128th edition, will take place from June 19-24 at the Hillside Golf Club in Hillside, Southport, England and it’s a trip that Gibson Jr hopes to again make his presence felt.

“I wasn’t even expecting to make the cut, due to the lack of practice lately with Daylight Savings Time gone. I wasn’t practicing as usual,” Gibson Jr said. “So, I feel good about it.

“I think it’s just God showing me what I asked him for. I asked him to show me a sign of whether or not I should still be playing golf and chase my dreams of being a pro player.”

In preparation for the trip to England, Gibson Jr said there are a lot of things that he needs to work on between now and June.

“My long iron game isn’t that great. I think it’s about 50-50 percent there,” he pointed out.

“So, I definitely need to work on my long irons.

“I also need to work on my driver. The reason why I played so well last week was because that was the first event that I played, and my driver stayed and played the entire event. That was the result of me finishing three-under-par last week.”

Coming off his best performance outside of the Bahamas in Puerto Rico where he finished tied for 19th place with three others for a 3-under-par 285, Gibson Jr said he’s convinced that it will boost his confidence moving forward.

“I feel pretty good. I couldn’t do any of this without God’s help,” he quipped.

“The big man was looking out for me after I was just sitting there and asking him if this makes sense chasing this dream of trying to get on the tour.

“He definitely answered my prayers last week so I’m definitely going to chase after it.”

To crack the tour, Gibson Jr said it would take a lot more work than he’s doing while working at the Royal Blue Golf Club at Baha Mar.

“You have to be consistently shooting under par and I’m not talking about one or two, but like five and six under-pars almost every round you play,’ Gibson Jr said.

“Golf is a game where you won’t always shoot low, but you have to make sure it’s definitely around one or two under-par every time you play if you want to have a chance to succeed,” he added.

From the British Amateur Championships, Gibson Jr could get a chance to play in the Master’s and the US Open, or at least make the final of the qualifying rounds to get into those two prestigious tournaments.

Gibson Jr is currently ranked at 2,177, having made the drop in the standings from 3,227.

Also, among the Bahamians ranked behind Gibson are Heathcliffe Kane and Bahamas Golf Federation’s president Lyford Miller.

“Before the year is out, I’m hoping to get into the top one thousand in the rankings,” Gibson Jr said. “I only passed Heathcliffe by about 20 spots. So, it’s good to see the Bahamas is making its mark on the international amateur golf circuit.”

As a result of his journey, Gibson Jr thanked God, his parents, especially his father, Richard Sr, who encouraged him to play golf, along with his mother, Priscilla. He said his girlfriend, Makeva Johnson, is also there pushing him, along with the golfing community and Baha Mar.

With their support, Gibson Jr said he definitely has all the ingredients to go to the next level in the sport.