Door open for another J’can at BMX Golf Classic
ONE MORE Jamaican golfer will have the opportunity to qualify for the PGA Tour Latinoamérica's BMW Jamaica Classic. The winner of the Jamaica Pro League tournament, set for April 9-10, will get a spot in the prestigious golf tournament, scheduled for Cinnamon Hill from April 30 to May 6.
At the launch of the tournament at the ATL Showroom on Lady Musgrave Road on Wednesday, tournament director Peter Lindo said the Pro League, which is meant for local professionals, will ensure that a Jamaican will be in the BMX Classic.
"Monday and Tuesday, April 9 and 10, at Caymanas Golf Club, we are going to have the Jamaica qualifier. We will be merging that with the Pro League tournament. So, the winner of that tournament, which will have to be a Jamaican as it is the Jamaica pro tournament, will get an exemption into the PGA Latino event. So there will be a Jamaican pro there," Lindo revealed.
Local golfers will also have another opportunity to participate in the tour through the tournament's qualifiers, which takes place on April 30. This will be an open event, with the top eight finishers to be placed in the main event, which will start on Thursday, May 3, and end on May 6.
Lindo expects overseas pros to dominate the April 30 qualifiers and anticipates that over 70 competitors will be battling for the eight spots.
"The official Monday qualifiers, which happens at all PGA events, is an open event. So whoever wants to play, once they can pay the fee, can come and shoot a good round and they can qualify. There are Jamaicans who live abroad and ply their trade there, they will be coming for that tournament, so it should really be exciting and the quality very high," he said. Meanwhile, five players from Jamaica (three pros, one amateur and one junior) and six golfers from the Trinidad and Tobago Open (three pros, one amateur and two juniors are already in the main tournament). Three golfers, two pros and an amateur, will be selected from the Gary Sobers tournament, which takes place in Barbados this month.
The PGA Tour Latinoamérica's BMW Jamaica Classic is expected to host 144 golfers from 22 countries. Some of the golfers who will be on show are last year's winner, Jared Wolfe, T&T Open winner Chris Richards, Mexican Gerardo Ruiz, and 13-yearold Jamaican amateur Justin Burrowes.
The event tees off on Monday with the qualifiers. On Wednesday, the ProAm tournament takes place, while the main event will get going on Thursday, May 3.