By Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - SportTHE JAMAICA Golf Association (JGA) and the Tiger Woods Foundation (TWF) have joined forces and youngsters, primarily from Kingston inner-city schools, will be the main beneficiaries.
At a press briefing at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club yesterday reporters, who had just completed a three-hole media appreciation tournament, were informed about details of the alliance by JGA representatives and director of the TWF, Dennis Burns.
From August 12-14, 150 young Jamaicans (75 on day one and 75 on day two) will be taken through the fundamentals of golf at the Cable and Wireless National Golf Academy in New Kingston. The third day will be a 'festival' at the adjacent Emancipation Park where parents will be invited to get in on the act.
Although Tiger will not be coming down for the three-day venture, his father, Earl, will.
"Earl really went to bat for Jamaica when the bid packages were received," Burns said yesterday. "The JGA really put together a great package and this will be the second time we have gone outside the United States after Puerto Rico last year," he said.
ICING ON THE CAKE
The icing on the cake for budding young players selected from various youth groups - including Multicare - is that 15 (with a parent or guardian) will be flown to California on August 26 for three days at Disneyland before a special TWF training camp where Tiger will personally tutor three of the Jamaicans.
Twelve will be chosen by the JGA and the other three through a special raffle on the final 'festival' day.
"This is all about supporting youth, supporting dreams," Burns said. "Tiger and Earl always talk about having big dreams ... how life goes nowhere without dreams and it is important that we come here and I don't care if it's one, five or 500 Jamaican youth, if we can instil that belief then we have done our jobs and so has the JGA.
"Our mission isn't really about golf. Our mission is to support organisations who support the health, education and welfare of children. That tells you something about how impressive the Jamaican bid package was to win one of the three coveted clinics and festivals we do each year," he said.
JGA president Gordon Hutchinson and vice president David Mais, a driving force behind the bid package, welcomed the alliance and its benefits.
A SUPERSTAR
"Tiger Woods is a superstar and admi-red by all Jamaicans - not only golfers," Hutchinson said. "Therefore, I'd like to say how pleased we are to welcome the Tiger Woods Foundation and we look forward very much to the inner-city clinic in August," he said.
Mais said: "We were fortunate that we got included in a list of countries that would submit a bid for hosting a TWF event ... this is a wonderful opportunity for some Jamaican youngsters to actually meet Tigers Woods (in California), it will be a lifetime experience for children who are coming from communities that need support and they themselves need support."
Meanwhile, CVM's Brenton Morris shot a three-hole 18 to pip TvJ's perennial campaigner, Sam Allen, by a stroke in the annual media competition.
