Sun | Oct 26, 2025

Team 5 leads Sandals Canadian Travel Industry golf tourney

Published:Tuesday | November 1, 2022 | 12:10 AMAinsley Walters/Gleaner Writer
Team 9’s (from left) Paul Gray, Barbara Warner, Sonja Laing and Ray Warner are joined by caddies Lascelle (partly hidden) and Phillip (right) as they show off their Jerk Chicken-themed Halloween golf cart and costumes during a break at the 26th annual Ba
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Team 9’s (from left) Paul Gray, Barbara Warner, Sonja Laing and Ray Warner are joined by caddies Lascelle (partly hidden) and Phillip (right) as they show off their Jerk Chicken-themed Halloween golf cart and costumes during a break at the 26th annual Baxter Media Sandals Travel Industry Golf Tournament at Sandals Golf and Country Club in Upton, St Mary yesterday.

UNDAUNTED by the menacing clouds of Tropical Storm Lisa passing to the south of the island, 68 Canadian travel agents teed off yesterday at Sandals Golf and Country Club in Upton, St Mary, determined to make the most of the Halloween-themed Baxter Media Sandals Travel Industry Golf Tournament, making its return after the COVID-19 pandemic.

While avid golfers such as Jake Coldiron, national manager, golf sales, Unique Vacations, was seriously leading Team 5 to a first-day score of 60, 11 under par, after 18 holes – a one-stroke lead ahead of the Jamaica Tourist Board’s (JTB) Team 17 – others such as Team 9 were just happy to be back in Jamaica, chugging along in Jerk Chicken-themed Halloween costumes on 80 in 15th place.

Maureen Barnes-Smith, vice president, sales, Unique Vacations Canada, said the tournament, one of three staged annually by Sandals to promote Jamaica as a golfing destination, returned even better than its last staging in 2019.

“We have 17 teams. In 2019, we had approximately 16 teams. We have a lot of first-time golfers to this tournament. For some, it’s their first trip to Jamaica but we also have some seasoned returnees and serious golfers,” Barnes-Smith pointed out.

Team 5, comprising Coldiron, Norah Hogan, Joanne Shinwell and Curtis Dewar, will be aiming to hold off the JTB’s Angella Bennett, Racquel Queenborough, Colin Harris and Charles Gorden on today’s second day. However, Ray and Barbara Warner, along with Team 9 mates, Paul Gray and Sonja Laing, are among the Canadians happy with the easing of all COVID-19 border and travel measures as at October 1.

Barnes-Smith said Jamaica being on target for record arrivals for October, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, was on par with the Canadian market’s response in September.

“We saw a similar trend in Canada for September, a record month over previous years, even though 2019 itself was a great year,” she said, adding that maintaining a presence in the market via social media and virtual holidays, showcasing the island, had Canadians raring to go post-pandemic.