MICHAEL 'BONES' Scott shot a one-under-par 71 yesterday at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club to hold the opening round lead in the men's section on the opening day of the National Trials to select this year's team to the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships (CAGC).
Scott, competing in the Hoerman Cup section for a spot on that five-man team, is also eligible for consideration for the two-man 35-and-over Mid Amateur Section. His score was three strokes better than the 75 daily required for automatic selection in the Hoerman Cup division and if he can hold on to his lead and his game over the next 54 holes, he should be well under the set 300 quota.
Radcliff Knibbs (74) was second, followed by Damian Spencer (75). Knibbs and Scott represented Jamaica last year in the CAGC, while former junior representative Spencer, who currently attends University of the West Indies, is the first recipient of the JGA/UWI Golf Scholarship grant.
Tied for fourth on 77 were junior player Narada Black, Mark Newnham and Gifford Wilmott.
MID AMATEUR RANKS
Last year's mid amateur at the championships, Philip Prendergast (72), was four shots ahead of his 2004 playing partner, Mike Gleichman, (76) and five shots better than his required quota of 77 per day.
The Mid-Amateur (Ramon Baez Figueroa Trophy) team event is played by two players 35 and over.
Jodi Barrow's 78 was on target for the 312 quota (78 daily) set for the ladies in the George Teale Trophy Team trials. She leads Maggie Lyn (83) by four shots and Lisandra Brown (85) by seven. Three players from the section will be chosen for the CAGC.
Freddie Sutherland (79) was the top senior yesterday, followed by Larry Stewart (83) and Errol McKenzie (84). The seniors, like the Mid Amateurs, are required to shoot a total of 308 for four rounds in order to be eligible for automatic selection. Two players will represent Jamaica in the section.
Former Test cricketer Maurice Foster and veteran super senior Dennis Atkinson are tied in the lead in the Higgs and Higgs super senior section, both with 77 and both one shot better than the 312 quota. This year's CAGC will be held in St. Kitts in August.
