The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

NOT since the days of the “Young Lions” in the late 1970s and the “Young Lionesses” in the early 2000s has the Bahamas earned any major success at the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships.

With the 60th version of the championships - which will have a revised format with only the Hoerman Cup for men and the George Teale Cup for women - coming to the Bahamas, the Bahamas Golf Federation is hoping to regain its prominence once again.

The BGF, headed by Glen Archer, officially named the squad that will represent the Bahamas against nine of the 10 registered countries from the Caribbean Golf Association at the championships, scheduled for July 24-30 at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island.

Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the US Virgin Islands will all be here vying for the Arthur Ziadie Trophy, which will be awarded to the team with the combined accumulated score.

Making up the Hoerman Cup team are veteran captain Peter McIntosh, assisted by Horace Miller, along with DeVaughn Robinson, Richard Gibson Jr, Elijah Delancy and Steven Kemp. The alternates are Paul Bowe from Grand Bahama, George Swann and Simon Fielder.

On the George Teale Cup team are Inecia Rolle, Taneka Sandiford, Sheridan Robinson and Marlique Hield. The alternates are Ashley Michel and Tynesha Tynes.

With the championship returning to the Bahamas, the players are looking to duplicate the performances of their predecessors.

The Young Lions won the Hoerman Cup for the first time for the Bahamas in 1978 at the Princess Ruby Golf Course in Grand Bahama and regained it in 1980 at the Sandy Lane Golf Course in Barbados.

That was followed by the success of the ladies winning the George Teale Cup in 2003 on the Tobago Plantation Golf Course in Trinidad & Tobago and defending it at the Our Lucayan Golf Course in Grand Bahama in 2004.

“We have a very young team, but it’s very talented,” said Miller when asked to compare this year’s team to the previous ones he competed on. “I think with the talent that we have to work with, we will do very well.”

For Sandiford, this is her fifth appearance on the GTC and she’s looking to make an impression in front of the home crowd.

“This is the only time that I get to play in my home country and so this is an honour to represent the Bahamas, but it’s an even bigger honour to represent the Bahamas in front of the home crowd, all our family and friends.

“It’s going to be something that is going to be completely different, but I’m just asking for the support of the Bahamian people to come out and support us. Even though we are a small country, we have the greatest fan base and so we want the Bahamian public to come out and support us.”

“For the past several years now, the majority of the local Bahamian golfers have been struggling to develop their games to their truest potential,” said Bahamas team manager Agatha Delancy, who served as the president of the BGF when the ladies were victorious.

“Obstacles such as restrictive playing concessions, along with incomplete and limited practicing facilities are strewn in the way of their developmental paths. Nonetheless, they hold onto their work ethics continuing to work within the uncontrollable constraints.”

Veteran pro golfer Jim Duncombe serves as the head coach of Team Bahamas and he indicated that with a little bit of tweaking, he’s confident that they will perform exceptionally well.

“We have been practicing and everything is looking good,” Duncombe said. “Right now, we are working out five days a week and we know that they will be ready.”

The team got the endorsement from Dr Daniel Johnson, the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, who said Team Bahamas is living up to its reputation of hosting the best of the best in a number of major sporting events.

And he commended the BGF and the CGA for the taking the opportunity during the championships to honour the memory of the late Fred Higgs, who made the golf course on Paradise Island one of the most vibrant spots to play.

• Here’s a brief bio of Team Bahamas:

Hoerman Cup

• Peter McIntosh is a veteran and decorated golfer who has played on numerous Hoerman Cup teams. He has also won a number of national titles.

• Horace Miller is a very skilled golfer who has also represented the Bahamas on the Hoerman Cup team.

• DeVaughn Robinson is the reigning national champion. He is considered a talented and proficient golfer who has also represented the Bahamas on the Hoerman Cup in the past.

• Richard Gibson Jr is a multiple time Hoerman Cupper and is listed as a very steady golfer.

• Elijah Delancy is on his second Hoerman Cup team. He is a very talented golfer with a promising future. He is preparing to head to school in August on a full athletic golf scholarship.

• Steven Kemp, although a first time member of the Hoerman Cup team, is considered to be a talented, strong, supportive and committed team player of the ‘First Order.’

George Teale Cup

• Inecia Rolle is a two-time national amateur champion (2015/16). She is a very talented and committed player who played on a number of the GTC and the Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship teams.

• Taneka Sandiford is a strong and talented player who also played on previous GTC and CAJGC teams.

• Sheridan Robinson is a talented and disciplined player, who is a repeat member of the GTC team.

• Marlique Hield, a resident of Grand Bahama, is currently playing in college. She developed her game under the watchful eyes of her father, a professional golfer. She also played on previous CAJGC teams, but is making her debut on the GTC team.