TT golfers for Americas test

TRINIDAD and Tobago will be represented by a mixture of youth and experience in the inaugural Copa de las Americas golf tournament.

The tournament, from June 25 to 28 will showcase the best talent in the region and participants from at least 24 countries from Canada to Chile and the Caribbean have already confirmed their participation. The competition, a prelude to the Caribbean Amateur Championships, will be contested over 72 holes at the Westin Rio Mar Resort and Golf Club in Puerto Rico. The players selected to represent TT are Carlos “Sexy” Baynes, Shane Costolloe, Maria Nunes and Diana Torry. They were selected based on their performances during the past year. Baynes, a Tobagonian is TT’s most experienced amateur golfer while Costolloe, a member of the national junior team for the upcoming regional championship is atop the current men’s rankings.

Nunes, a former world junior champion and Torry, also on the junior team for the Caribbean Junior Championships in Freeport, Bahamas finished tied for first on the women’s rankings. They hold the distinction of being the first women’s team to represent TT at the Copa de las Americas level. The team leaves for Puerto Rico on June 23, hours after competing the final trial to select the national senior team for the Caribbean Amateur Championships to be staged in Tobago from August 3 to 10. According to Nunes, curently the general manager of the St Andrew’s Golf Club at Moka Maraval, the Westin Rio Mar Beach Resort has both an Ocean Course and a River Course. The Ocean course was designed by George Tom Fazio while Australian Greg Norman designed the River Course. Both courses will provide a stern test for the TT golfers, said Nunes. The field is a very competitive one led by the Americans who have included four former national champions in their line-up.

The US will be led by Ricky Barnes, defending US campion along with Ryan Moore, USGA Public Links title-holder. The women’s team comprise Becky Lucidi and Kathy Hartwiger, their women and mid-amateur champions respectively. Apart from the on-course action, delegates form the participating countries will also meet to formalise the Americas Golf Federation whose aim is to promote and conserve the best interests and true spirit of the game. The event will also serve as a warm-up for next year’s World Amateur Team Championships also carded for Puerto Rico. Confirming their participation in the Copa de las Americas tournament are: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, US Virgin Islands, Uruguay and Venezuela.