Junior golfers swing away on double-header weekend

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 18 January 2017

Holly McLean (left) putts for an 88 on 18 with Lauren Needham (middle) and Tabitha Hawkins (right)

Junior golfers teed up for a double-header last weekend with the third round of the National Team Qualifiers, presented by RSM, on Saturday, 14 January, and the third round of the Digicel Junior Golf Series on Sunday, 15 January.

High winds posed challenges for some of the golfers in this qualifying tournament, shaking up the field after the first two rounds. In the boys 14-15 age group, Aaron Jarvis shot 75 from the blue tees maintaining a solid lead over second place, Derek Peene.

The boys 11-13 age group, Justin Hastings holds a considerable lead with 230 over the three rounds. Justin is followed by Todd Purton, James Bould, Andy Hastings and Tom Dickens.

In the girls’ division, Holly McLean continues to hold her lead over Lauren Needham after the three rounds.

The final round of the National Team Qualifiers, presented by RSM, will take place on Sunday, 5 February at the Ritz-Carlton. In order to determine the individual qualifiers for team that will represent the Cayman Islands at the Caribbean Championships, the top three of four scores will be accumulated for each golfer. This will be an exciting round to follow, particularly for the 11-13 boys.

Golfers faced high winds again on the Sunday for the third round of the Digicel Junior Golf Series. Despite the challenging conditions, 21 juniors turned out for the event. The senior boys played the tournament from the white tees on a net basis, with handicaps subtracted from their gross scores. Aaron Jarvis took first place with a 70. Derek Peene and Justin Hastings tied for second place with a 72, with the award going to Derek based on a count-back.

James Bould shot an outstanding personal best, 76, to take first place in the junior boys flight with Andy Hastings in second with an 82, followed by Todd Purton and Tom Dickens. These boys played 18 holes from the red tees and scores were not handicap adjusted.

The girls 18-hole group was led by Holly McLean who shot an 88. Holly was followed by Lauren Needham and Tabitha Hawkins.

The most competitive field was the boys 9-hole division with 8 players. Danny Lyne earned first place with an impressive 37, followed by Luke Dodson and Zachary Garnett. In the girls 9-hole category, Lily Marsh placed first.