By Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - SportJAMAICA'S JASON Garbutt fired a superb two-under round of 70 yesterday to keep his team well in reach of Hoerman Cup honours at the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships (CAGC) which teed off at Tobago's Plantations Golf and Country Club.
After the opening day of action in the four-round event, Jamaica are sitting in third position in the premier men's event with a gross score of 217 thanks to Garbutt's 70, Owen Samuda's one-over 73 and teenager Paul Thompson's 74. Michael Scott carded a 76 but only the top three scores from each round count towards the team's total this year.
Hosts Trinidad and Tobago lead the way with a 212 total while hot favourites Puerto Rico are four strokes behind the pacesetters.
Jamaica's best performance yesterday came from Seniors Dennis Atkinson and Hamar Dayes whose better ball tally of 71 sees them in a four-way tie with the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago for the lead in the Francis Steele-Perkins Trophy.
As expected, the new format this year which counts only one player's score per team in the women's George Teale Trophy competition has made that event virtually straight matchplay.
The Bahamas, through Jameica Duncombe's fine 72, lead the Cayman Islands by a stroke with Jamaica in sixth with a scoring round of 82 from veteran campaigner Maggie Lyn.
Jamaica's highly-regarded SuperSenior combo of Cleo Taylor and Herman McDonald, Higgs and Higgs Trophy champs two years ago, got off to a shaky start with an opening better ball score of 76 for a share of fifth but six strokes behind early leaders Trinidad and Tobago. Puerto Rico are one shot off the pace after a 71 tally.
The newly-created and contentious Ramon Baez Trophy for Mid-Amateurs (men over 35) sees Puerto Rico (71) holding a comfortable four-stroke buffer over the US Virgin Islands going into the second round. Each team has two competitors with the best score counting each day. Jamaica's Mike Gleichman carded a five-over 77 to have the island six strokes off the pace in that section after day one.
