Golf ace afraid to pick a World Cup team
Knibbs viewing World Cup as neutral to avoid emotional roller coaster
Published:Wednesday | November 23, 2022 | 12:17 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
IN THE midst of the excitement of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, third-place finisher at the recently concluded Jamaica Golf Open Championships, William Knibbs, revealed that this time around he’s watching football’s showpiece event as a neutral to avoid the emotional feelings the game of football usually brings.
“Boy, this year I’ve decided to watch it as a neutral. That way I can enjoy the games more, because sometimes you can get emotional following a team. Can you imagine if I were an Argentine fan? I would have had to find somewhere to hide,” he argued.
The 2020 National Amateur champion had to settle for a third-place finish in this year’s tournament, won by Justin Burrowes. According to Knibbs, in retrospect, the overall performance was a little disappointing.
“I would say yes, but it wasn’t as bad as some of my closer losses in the past. We had six sets of nine holes, for the tournament, and I was even-par on four of the nine, so where that is concerned, I was a little disappointed in my lack of execution.
“At the same time, I was very pleased that I didn’t make any mental errors, but had some untimely bad swings, but from time to time that will happen,” Knibbs declared.
For Knibbs, the difference between him winning the title and his third-place placing had much to do with unforced errors.
“I created a lot of opportunities for myself over the three days, I just didn’t do a great job of taking the chances. First and foremost, he (Justin Burrowes) and I are very good friends so we don’t let that get in the way of our friendship. It’s been cool that the last three years, usually to win a golf tournament in Jamaica, it would come through either Justin or myself and it’s something that I take pride in,” Knibbs disclosed.
With the National Championships now in the past, Knibbs will now turn his attention to the Latin America Amateur Championships set for Grand Reserve Golf Course in Puerto Rico from January 12-15, 2023.
“I’ve never made the cut there, so that would be nice and cool to accomplish that this time around. Luckily for Justin and I this will be a course where we played the Herman Cup last summer in Puerto Rico, so that helps with some prior knowledge.”