The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

RICHARD Gibson Jr, the Bahamas’ top ranked international amateur golfer, returned home last week after participating in the 42nd US Mid-Amateur Championships that took place at the Sleepy Hallow Country Club in Scarborough, New York.

He wasn’t successful in making the cut for the top 64 out of the field of 264 field to advance to the match play for the hardware, but Gibson said the experience gained was just as valuable.

“That’s the best experience I ever had in golf and it was a new experience for me,” said Gibson, who was only the second Bahamian to play in the event, following on the heels of DeVaughn Robinson.

“I never experienced some of the stuff that I went through. I give thanks to God for giving me the opportunity, but I never played on a golf course that was so rough. The rough length was about 4-5 inches. I never played the rough that high before and I never played greens in competition that was that fast. That’s the fastest I’ve ever played the golf course before in terms of putting.”

The 31-year-old Gibson Jr, whose world ranking is pegged at 245 before the start of the tournament in New York, admitted that in order for him to continue to improve, he will have to definitely play more competition in the United States.

“The Caribbean golf is pretty much the same. You might find a golf course where the rough is a little bit higher, but for the USGA event, they intentionally grow the rough up because they want you to play a championship course.

“So they will grow the rough up from maybe 3 ½ inches to about five inches. They penalise you if you miss the fairways. So you need to hit the fairways. If you miss the fairways, you will be penalised. Other than that, you have to learn how to deal with the weather delays.”

In most tournaments he’s played here around the Caribbean, Gibson Jr said the organisers would more than likely cancel the rest of the match play or shorten the rounds whenever it rains. With the rain delays in New York, Gibson Jr said the organisers just pushed the tee times back.

“I was supposed to play on Saturday and Sunday, but I ended up playing on Saturday and Monday because my tee times were pushed back,” he said.

“Originally, I was supposed to tee off at 1:38pm on Sunday, but after the rain delays, it was pushed back to 6:38pm. Then we had another delay and when I went to check to see what’s going on, they told me my tee time had been moved to Monday at 8:38am.

“So that was a new experience for me. I always wanted to see how that worked out. I always watched it on TV, but to actually be a part of it was something else. The only thing I didn’t somewhat like, because it was raining so much, I thought they would have done lift, clean and place where once your ball hit the fairway, you would lift it and clean the dirt off and play. But they just let us go with the ball down where you just played from wherever your ball landed on the fairway.”

Gibson is now preparing to team up with Nolan Johnson, the Bahamas’ second highest ranked international amateur golfer at 887, in the US Amateur Fou Ball Championships that will be staged in Bayou Oakes South Course in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“We’re going to give it our best shot,” Gibson Jr said.

If they are successful, they will advance to the 2024 US Amateur Four Ball Championships that will be held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Philidelphia May 25-29.

At this stage in the game, Gibson Jr said he’s been pleased with his progress since he started playing the game at the age of eight with his father, Richard Gibson Sr. But he admitted while he enjoys the competition here, he needs more of a challenge to get to the point where he could be a contender in the big tournaments on the international scene, especially in the USA.

“When I’m playing against a group of people and I know I’m going to be coming in either first, second or third, that’s not helping me,” he stated. “For me to get better, I know I have to get to the United States or Europe or Canada where there are a lot more golfers who I don’t know and I have to perform.

“That’s the only way that I am going to get better to get on the professional tour where they are watching you play on TV. That is where I want to go, but I know I have to get in some more tournaments to improve my scores and my game.”

Compared to a Professional Golf Association pro, Gibson Jr said those players wake up in the morning and head to the gym to lift weights. They then go on the golf course for the rest of the day, practicing and playing golf.

When he gets up, he spends the majority of his time working on the golf course where he’s assisting the visiting amateur and pro golfers as they practice and compete at the Royal Blue Golf Club at Baha Mar where he is the operations assistant.

“I can’t practice on the golf course until I get off. That’s a big difference,” Gibson Jr pointed out.

“Until I can find a big sponsor who will enable me to stop working, I still have a lot more to do before I can take that step and turn pro.”