Tough opening day for CAC golfers

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic:

Round one of the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games golf competition unfolded under the blistering Caribbean sun at the prestigious Corales Golf Club in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic yesterday, with Jamaica’s Mattea Issa leading the national charge despite a challenging adjustment to the world-class layout.

Issa carded an opening-round seven-over-par 79 to sit in sixth place heading into day two. While the scorecard showed five bogeys, a double bogey, and a lone birdie on the par-four fourth, the young Jamaican refused to let the numbers dampen her spirits.

For Issa, the real victory of the day was simply being on the fairways of a course that recently hosted a PGA Tour event.

“I am so grateful to be here and playing on this magnificent course. It is truly an honour. Yes, my putting wasn’t the best today. I wasn’t really accustomed to these fast greens,” Issa admitted after her round.

“In Jamaica, we have thicker greens, zoysia grass, so they roll a little bit slower than here. They just played a PGA event here, and so the greens are rolling a lot quicker than back home. That’s something I have to get used to over the next three days.”

Issa’s round was a tale of two nines. She bogeyed the opening par-four hole and struggled to find her rhythm early, adding two more bogeys to go with her sole birdie on the fourth to make the turn at seven over par.

The back nine offered little respite, as she posted two more bogeys and a costly double bogey on the treacherous par-three 17th. However, the experience of competing on such a pristine stage left her grateful.

“Overall, as I said, lots of positives to take away; just to be competing at this level against some very good players has motivated me and I will keep pushing for the next three days.”

Puerto Rico’s Maria Fernandez Torres set the early pace in the women’s division, firing a stellar two-under-par 70 to take the lead.

Colombia’s Maria Bohorquez is hot on her heels in second place with a one-under-par 71, while Mexico’s Maria Lira Solis sits third after a three-over-par 75.

In the men’s competition, Jamaica’s Oshaye Haye endured a tougher test of the Corales layout, signing off on the day with a 12-over-par 84 to finish the day in 14th position.

Haye’s card was littered with four double bogeys and three bogeys, but the St Ann-based golfer remained philosophical about his experience on the grand stage.

“It was a good experience despite the rough day,” Haye reflected.

“I hit the ball well, but I left a lot of balls on the wrong side of the green and had seven three-putts. That tells the story of the round right there.”

While the Jamaican struggled with the speed of the greens, Guatemala’s Jose Toledo made the layout look routine, surging to the top of the leaderboard with a blistering eight-under-par 64.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Chris Richards Jr is well in contention, sitting in fifth place with a two-under-par 70. St Lucia’s Yadhu Urs is 10th after a four-over-par 76, while Barbados’ Xzavier Wiggins is 13th with a nine-over-par 81.

For Issa and Haye, however, the leaderboard is secondary to the honour of representing their nation.

As the sun set over the Punta Cana coastline, both players expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to fly the Jamaican flag on one of the sport’s most beautiful stages.