Fourteen-year-old Emily Odwin won the Girls 15 and Under age group in the recently concluded Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships (CAJGC). The championships were played in Jamaica at the challenging Caymanas Golf Club, St Catherine, Jamaica.
Although Emily led the field after an opening round of four over par 76, she struggled in the second round with two triple bogeys on her card. Eventually her score of 84 placed her second, behind the new leader, Yae Eun Kim (78 + 79) from Dominican Republic, and only one stroke ahead of Ashley Michel from the Bahamas.
When the three girls teed off on the final day, however, Emily quickly established her dominance, playing the first six holes in one under par. Despite a double bogey on the seventh, Emily continued her hectic pace with birdies on the eighth and ten to establish a lead which she never looked like relinquishing. Her score of 75 put her six strokes clear of her nearest rival, Yae Eun Kim, who completed her final round with a gross score of 84.
Barbados, unfortunately, did not field a full team of 14 players, so had to compete for individual honours in the various age groups. Although Iz Hustler and Xzavier Wiggins showed signs of brilliance on occasions, neither boy challenged in the Boys 18 and Under category. Hustler finished ninth, while Wiggins was eleventh from a field of 19 boys.
Other competitors who represented Barbados were  Oaziah Layne in the Boys 18 & Under, Dominic Jordan and Nathan Chee-a-tow in the Boys 15 & Under, Quinton Heljenek and Nicholas Phillips in the Boys 11-13, and Brianna Prescod in the Girls 11-13.
Coach Denny Foster and manager Richard Proverbs accompanied the team to Jamaica.
Puerto Rico were comfortable winners of the team event with the home team Jamaica, finishing as runners up. (PR)
