Roye, Issa repeat as national golf champs
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Zandre Roye plays a chip onto the green during a recent golf tournament.
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Contributed
Mattea Issa tees off in a recent golf tournament.
Zandre Roye and Mattea Issa were repeat winners at this year’s Jamaica Golf Association’s (JGA) three-day National Senior Golf Trials, which ended on Sunday at the Half Moon Golf Course in Montego Bay.
They battled the heat and had to overcome high winds, especially on the second day of competition.
Roye saw his fortunes change after each round to eventually top the leaderboard at the end. He shot four over par 76 for second place after round one then dropped to sixth after scoring nine over par 81 at the close of round two but recovered after posting the lowest score of one over par 73 in round three to win by just one shot with an overall score of 14 over par 230.
Roye said it was not easy but he was happy with the result.
“It’s not an easy golf course. It’s one of the hardest golf courses on the island,” said Roye.
“It’s a pretty good feeling to say I have won back-to-back national trials, and I won the national amateur championship just two weeks ago — I think two, three weeks ago — and to back it now with the national trials, it’s a pretty good feeling and I am happy with the result.”
Trey Williams and Owen Samuda moved up from joint fourth place in round two to joint second place at the end after carding 76 each for their combined total of 15 over par 231.
Dr Mark Newnham’s 16 over par 232 was good enough for fourth place after being joint leader at the end of the second round with two other golfers.
Another joint leader after the second round, Oshae Haye shot 79 in the final round to occupy fifth place on 233.
Sean Morris, the day-one leader bagged sixth place with his 78 in the final round for a combined score of 235.
Former female golf champion and many time national representative Mattea Issa posted two solid rounds of five over par 77 in round one and two but had a rough final round of 10 over par 82 to close the trials on 20 over par 236. She was, however, pleased to be the repeat female champion after battling the challenging conditions.
The national champions will now focus on the Caribbean Amateur Golf championship from August 2-7 in The Bahamas.