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Burrowes, Knibbs looking to pull on Jarvis’ inspirational LAAC win

Published:Wednesday | January 11, 2023 | 1:15 AMLennox Aldred/Gleaner Writer
Jamaica’s William Knibbs (left) and Justin Burrowes will represent Jamaica at the Latin America Amateur golf Championship in Puerto Rico from January 12-15.
Jamaica’s William Knibbs (left) and Justin Burrowes will represent Jamaica at the Latin America Amateur golf Championship in Puerto Rico from January 12-15.

THE 2022 winner of the Latin America Amateur golf Championship (LAAC) came from the tiny island of Cayman, and Jamaicans Justin Burrowes and William Knibbs are feeling confident they can pull off a similar feat when the tournament gets under way tomorrow at the Grand Reserve Golf Club in Puerto Rico.

Defending champion Aaron Jarvis of Cayman along with Burrowes and Knibbs will be among 108 of the best amateur golfers from South and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean to compete in the par-72 stroke play event.

For Burrowes, Jarvis’ win last year has inspired him to put forward his best in the coming days.

“I am feeling good about my game coming into the tournament. What I am excited about is the fact that Aaron (Jarvis) did it last year and it shows that the English-speaking Caribbean countries can do it as well. It gives me the encouragement to go out and do my best.”

Burrowes, who is ranked 973 in the world amateur rankings, is hoping that he can better his tie for 34th place last year. However, he knows that the competition will be fierce with some players in the field having Masters, Open, US Open and PGA tour experience.

“I know I will be comfortable in the field because Aaron and I grew up playing together, so there is that confidence there. Hopefully, I can go out and play my best and whatever that produces I am fine with that,” added Burrowes.

Teammate Knibbs, who is ranked six places above Burrowes, is also feeling confident as he is familiar with the course, having represented Jamaica at the Caribbean Championship in 2021.

“I am looking forward to the event because Justin and I played this same course a couple of years ago. The course itself is pretty challenging. Its biggest defence is the wind, but I would suspect that the course will be in even better shape this week than when we were here in 2021,” said Knibbs.

Jamaica’s best finish at the LAAC was 24th when Ian Facey recorded a total score of 292 back in 2015. The other Caribbean participants at this year’s championship are the Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman, Haiti, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the US Virgin Islands.