Ames: Golfers closing in on Tiger

And in fielding questions from participants he made the point that there was not much of a difference among the world’s top golfers now.

Ames, who lives in Canada, said although he acknowledged Tiger Woods as the world’s number one, any one of the ranked golfers could win an international tournament on a given day, and this is because all have stepped up their level of play.

The San Fernando-born Ames pointed out that winning and losing depends on almost every factor under the sun— ranging from the way you feel to the course conditions, which no one has any control over.

“The gap nowadays is not as big as when Woods came into the sport back in 1999,” Ames said.

Ames said he has spent years trying to perfect his swing and thought he had a problem.

However he said he discovered that the problem was never really his swing, but the confidence to use it to do what he wanted to do.

He urged young golfers to have the confidence in their swing, to allow it to do what is necessary.

Ames spoke to the young golfers of Trinidad and Tobago and Canada who were preparing for a three-day competition for the Stephen Ames Cup.

The championship is in five different categories for Boys and Girls Under-21 and Under-18; and Boys Under-15.

The first time the Cup was staged last year in Canada, the home team won and this time Trinidad and Tobago will be hoping to equal the score.

Leading the challenge for the local team is Diana Torry among the women, while the men will be led by Shane Castelloe. Torry’s partner will be Tracey Clarke while Castelloe will have the support of Simon Merry.

Other members of the Trinidad and Tobago’s team are Martine De Gannes, Kelsey Lou Hing (women); Ben Martin, Robert Llanos, Timothy Martin and Sirron Melville (men).

For Canada Zac Bested will be hoping to lead by example and will be partnered by David Downs.

The other Canadian golfers are Michael Bosch, Darren Hupfer, Sean Jedrusiak and Scott Lowe. The women are Leslie Booth, Claudine Foong, Laeni Bendzik and Rebecca Lee Bentham.

Ames pointed out that the idea of the tournament is not only to give players the opportunity to play at a high level but also to expose them to international sponsors.

He added that being a player here in Trinidad and Tobago, he knew about the problems that golfers face and therefore it was his attempt to give back to the sport both here and in Canada.