Elated Arft goes wire to wire to win the Jamaica Open

TRYALL, HANOVER

Just last week, American Andrew Arft had no intention of playing in the 56th Jamaica Open Golf Championships, but encouragement from another player on the mini tour in Orlando saw Arft having a change of heart, which eventually paid off as he won the prestigious tournament on Tuesday.

The right-handed golfer made it a wire-to-wire finish as he led from the start over the 56 holes and in the end finished seven under par 209 to secure the US$20,000 top cash prize.

Arft shot a one under par 71 in the final round, which included an eagle, two birdies, and three bogeys to go with his opening round six under par 66 and his even-par second round 72 to beat out his fast-charging compatriot Dominic Piccirillo by one shot after Piccirillo shot a four under par 68 in the final round to finish with a total six under par 210.

It was a clean sweep of the top spots for the Americans as Josh Anderson and Blake Wagoner shot 70 and 69, respectively, to end with a total of five under par 211.

American Ryan Linton chalked up the best score of the three days following his eight under par 64 to finish with a three under par 213 and sixth place overall.

With the Americans claiming the top seven spots, champion Arft was happy that he made the last-minute decision to come to Jamaica and play the Open.

“I am as happy as can be as it was Patrick Lundy who convinced me to play in this tournament as I had no intention to come or even thought about it. I signed up on Thursday, booked a flight on Friday, and got here Saturday morning, and now I am the champion,” said Arft.

Jamaican professional Wesley Brown, playing for the first time at the Open, finished in the money following his one over par 217, which saw him tied for eighth place.

The Jamaican pair of Seebert Walker Jnr and Justin Burrowes finished their first professional tournament in 22nd and 25th places, respectively, following scores of 231 and 234.

In the meantime, veteran Sean Morris rolled back the years to claim the amateur title following his 17 over par total of 233, which was two strokes better than second-place finisher Oshae Haye.

National junior golfer Trey Williams rounded out the top three after carding a 25 over par total of 241.

Trinidadian Chris Richards secured the senior professional title following his two over par total of 218, with Canadian Kent Fukushima finishing second four strokes back.

The senior amateur title was won by Canadian Robert Sterling, who carded a 28 over par total of 244 with Jamaican Dr Mark Newnham one shot behind in second place.

President of the Jamaica Golf Association Jodi Munn-Barrow beamed with pride at another successful staging of the premier golf event in Jamaica.

“It was a good, successful exciting week of golf as we predicted. Tryall golf course is set for that, and I must say congratulations to Andrew on his first time here in Jamaica, and I hope he continues to return and spread the word that 2024 will be even better,” Munn-Barrow said.