The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

TEAM Bahamas is in a familiar fourth position following the second day of the the 27th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships.

In the race for the Hank James Trophy, given to the top scoring team in the tournament, the Bahamas has totalled 31 points at the event hosted at the Dorado Beach Resort and Club in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico leads the field with 53 points, followed by the Dominican Republic with 46 and Trinidad and Tobago with 42.

Asif Robinson, in the boys’ under-17 division, had the best day of any member of the Bahamian team after he shot a second round 80. After a rough start with a double bogey on hole one and a bogey on hole two, Robinson made par on six of the next seven holes and birdied 13 and 14 on the back nine. He shot an opening round 89 for a score of 169, tied for No.35 overall.

Also in the division, Lucas Echeverri shot a second round 83, following his opening round 86. He has also shot a 169 and both players are tied at No.10 in the division.

Nearly identical to day one, Echeverri got off to a promising start with a pair of birdies on the front nine, but had an unfortunate series of bogies on the back nine where he suffered bogies or double bogies on seven holes.

Also in the 20-man under-17 division, Brian Coakley had a much improved day two when he followed an opening round 91 with an 80 on day two for a score of 171. He is ranked 13th in the division and tied for No.39 overall.

Cameron Riley, playing in the boys’ under-15 division, dropped to No.38 overall despite shooting an 84 to follow an opening round 86. He has a score of 170 and remained ranked No. 9 in the 20-man group.

Ryan Coarbell scored his first birdie of the tournament yesterday en route to shooting an 82 yesterday. It was a marked improvement from the 96 he shot on day one to stand at a score of 178. He rose two spots in the division to rank No. 15.

Aharon Bastian lowered his score by nine strokes with a score of 93 after he shot a 102 on day one (195), ranked No.19 in the division.

Xavier Robinson moved up two spots in the boys’ 10-13 division after he shot an 81 on day two.

Robinson birdied both the No.7 and No.14 hole on the afternoon.

Teammate Anthony Loon did not fare as well and shot in the triple digits for the second consecutive day with a 110, 15th in the division.

In the girls’ 16-17 division, Marlique Hield and L’Leah King swapped spots in the seventh and eigth spots. Hield shot a 101 (191) while Laing shot a 96 (203).

In the girls’ 14-15 division, Inecia Rolle remained in a tie for fifth. She lowered her day one score (88) by five strokes to shoot an 83 yesterday.

In the girls’ 10-13 division, Ashley Michel shot a second round 96 (194) while Tynesha Tynes shot 104 (200) for fourth and fifth place respectively.

The Spanish-speaking Caribbean continues to dominate the event with host country Puerto Rico featuring four division leaders while the Dominican Republic has fielded the next two.

The Bahamian golfers will continue to face-off against their Caribbean counterparts from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) on the 18-hole championships course. The tournament concludes August 1.

At the 26th CAJGC, the Bahamas finished in fourth place at the tournament hosted at the North Sound Golf Club, Cayman Islands.

The Bahamas finished fourth with a score of 118 behind first place Puerto Rico with 151, the Dominican Republic with 139 and Trinidad and Tobago with 135.

Jamaica finished fifth with 91 and Barbados rounded out the top six with 40.

The championships are played annually and is rotated amongst the members of The Caribbean Golf Association.

This team event, first played in Puerto Rico in 1988, is played over 54 holes in three divisions for boys and girls 10-17 years.