By TENAJH SWEETING 

Tribune Sports Reporter 

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Golf Federation’s (BGF) junior golf team competed in round one of the 36th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships (CAJC) yesterday in Kingston, Jamaica.

The 14 junior golfers, representing The Bahamas, got their quest to hoisting the trophy in celebration started on a high note at the Caymanas Golf & Country Club and are hoping to keep day one’s momentum going.

Team manager Gina Gonzalez-Rolle is optimistic about the team’s chances over in Jamaica.

“Our expectations for the kids here is just for them to do their very best. We are hoping to win a few categories. This is fierce competition because we have the best in the Caribbean here at this point but we are looking to do very well even though we have a very young team,” she said.

The Bahamas is competing in three flights - 11 to 13 flight, 15-and-under flight and 18-and under flight.

After round one of play, The Bahamas is currently leading the girls’ 11 to 13 flight. Madison CarrollCarlos finished round one with a total gross of 81. The second best performer was her teammate Anissa Robinson with a score of 85.

Puerto Rican Marena Fontanet had a total gross of 86 for the third spot.

The Bahamas is positioned first in the 11 to 13 overall flight followed by Puerto Rico as well as Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica, who are tied for third.

Chemari Pratt is ranked fourth for The Bahamas following round one on Wednesday. She posted a total gross of 87. Haley Hall also competed for The Bahamas in this category. Hall had a total score of 89 for sixth place.

Leading the group is Shania Reyes of the Dominican Republic with a total gross of 83 tied with Barbados’ Mariella Young. Puerto Rico’s Amelia Santiago sits in third with 85.

Mia Underwood scored a total gross of 101 for The Bahamas in the girls’ 18-and-under flight. Puerto Rico’s Camilla Negroni leads the division with 75. Jamaica’s Mattea Issa is in second with 80 and the Dominican Republic’s Stefaniya Mosyagina is third with 82.

The Bahamas has three junior golfers in the boys’ 15-and-under flight. Kerrington Rolle leads the field with a total gross of 72. He is currently tied with Puerto Rico’s Tomas Rodriguez for first. Bermuda’s Arman Newton came away with a total gross of 76.

Zakary Joseph and Aidan Gorospe are tied for sixth place with 78 apiece. Rashawn Hanna is within range for a top three spot in the boys’ 11 to 13 flight. He is currently ranked fourth after round with a total gross of 85.

Rounding out the top three yesterday were Jamaica’s Shasa Redlefsen, Puerto Rico’s Ortiz Bayoan and the Dominican Republic’s Alejandro Balbuena.

The second Bahamian competitor in the group was Juan Wilson, who settled for seventh place with a score of 88.

The Bahamas currently has three competitors in the boys’ 18-and-under flight. The trio of Camdyn Forbes, Angelino Cooper and Christopher Callander are ranked 10th, 16th and 23rd respectively.

Despite the humidity and mountainous golf course, the team manager was very impressed with the team’s day one performances.

“We were really happy with day one. We are looking for day two to be even better and we are looking to bring home some trophies. We are really excited about it despite it being really hot here and very humid with a lot of hills.

“The kids are using a lot of energy walking the course, they are not allowed to drive and we have to make sure they stay hydrated while they are there.

“We had to do a lot to prepare them for the courses here because it is so different from the courses at home but they are doing well with the conditions given,” she said.

The BGF junior golf team will be back on the course again today for round two of action which begins at 8:50am this morning.

The 14-member team is coached by Fredrick Taylor and Georgette Rolle.