Bahamas junior golf team members with their awards.
#By BRENT STUBBS
#Senior sports Reporter
#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
#THE Bahamas’ 14-member team returned home from the 35th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships (CAJGC) in the Cayman Islands with a fifth place, but it was an experience that manager Gina Gonzalez-Rolle feels they will never forget.
#The team, coached by Frederick Taylor, watched as Puerto Rico carted off the Hank James trophy for the overall title. The Dominican Republic came in second and Jamaica was third.
#Kerrington Rolle and Haley Hall earned third place finishes individually for the Bahamas in the boys 15-and-under and girls 11-13 divisions respectively.
#“We were really pleased with the team. It’s a new team we’re working with and we came back with two third place and a fifth place overall,” Gonzalez-Rolle said.
#“We know that next year and the year after, we will be aiming to come back with first place.”
#In the girls’ 11-13 division, Team Bahamas emerged as the victors as Haley Hall was 43-over-par and Madisson Carroll-Carlos ended up 44 over-par for third and fourth respectively in the individual standings.
#The 11-13 boys finished fifth in their division with a final score of 30 over-par 243 with Patrick Mactaggart shooting a 30 over-par 243 to take a top spot as well, while Denahj Mortimer was 15th with a 72 over-par 285.
#The 15-and-under girls were sixth with Seannae Norvile-Smith coming in ninth with 67-over-par 280 and Taylor Sands was 10th with a 99-over-par 312.
#The boys 15-and-under team had a better showing, coming in third with a 37 over-par. Kerrington Rolle was third with a 14-over-par 227; Camdyn Forbes was 11th with 31 over-par 244 and and Jackson Mactaggart was 42 over-par 255.
#“My experience was good. I met a lot of people. I played exceptionally well under the conditions,” said Rolle, a 14-year-old heading into grade ten at Windsor High School. “As a team, I felt there was room for improvement, but we did good.”
#In the 18-and-under girls division, Team Bahamas was seventh with a 73-over-par. Miljojka Gojkovic finished 12th with a score of 74-over-par 287 and Tynisha Tynes was 13th with a 76-over-par 289.
#And in the 18-and-under boys division, the Bahamas was also seventh with a 71 over-par. Dupuch was 11th with a 22 over-par 235; Zion Taylor was 20th with a 49 over-par 262 and Christopher Callender was 21th with a 71 over-par 284.
#“We had a lot of younger kids on the team and although we have never been to Puerto Rico before, we enjoyed the experience,” said Dupuch, who served as the co-captain with Zion Taylor.
#“I placed 11th overall, so I was quite pleased with my performance. A lot of our players are new and so we didn’t expect that much from them, but they all went out there and performed as best as they could.”
#The Bahamas Junior Golf Development Programme, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Bahamas Golf Federation, will now prepare for next year