Nine Saint Lucians attended the Trinidad Open held at the St. Andrew’s Golf and Country Club in Moka.
The TT Open is considered the premier tournament on the Caribbean amateur golf calendar and the closest many golfing amateurs in the Caribbean will come to playing in the same conditions as Pros on the PGA Tour.
Divisions vary from championship players vying for World Amateur Golf Ranking to veterans/legends of past championships in the Masters over 70 division.
Players had to engage in four gruelling days of walking the course over an average of 5 hours per round. The course at Moka demands every bit of skill, shot shape and selection from all its players. Many learnt new skills on the fly under the pressure of wanting to compete.
Over 140 players competed. Romanus Inglis and Terry Verdant finally got their chance to represent Saint Lucia at the President’s Cup, a prestigious Cup. This category fielded the best two players from the various countries competing.
Anthony Spallone represented us proudly in the Championship Division. Legends and past champions around the region in Dr. Kent Glace and Canice Louis competed in the Masters and Super Seniors respectively.
They met up with old friends and exchanged stories about past rivalries and put on a masterful performance; it was all good fun and was a pleasure for the younger golfers to witness.
Keymanie Thomas and Samuel Richelieu rising stars and graduates of the Grow Well Junior Program played well and made both Mara Thompson their manager and Colleen Newman the founder of the program proud.
Then we had the grinders in Habib Chreiki and Jason Thomas who competed in the 1st and 2nd flight. Both of whom had good starts but were unable to build on it as the tournament progressed.
The Trinidad faithful received all of us with open arms and expressed their regret that Daren Sammy whom they adored in last year’s edition could not make it. In the end we reflected on our play and our experience in Trinidad with delight and pride and desire to come back and compete again.
Saint Lucia is now back on the regional golf map, and our sights are set on becoming a powerhouse in the region. Come join us.
It is our hope that we can continue to train and prepare for other tournaments as we seek to represent Saint Lucia at the highest level.
SOURCE: St. Lucia Golf Association
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