Jamaica enjoyed a good day two Wednesday at the 34th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship being staged in Puerto Rico with Emily Mayne and Mattea Issa topping their age groups.
Mayne posted the best score of all the females in the competition when she carded a one under par 70 to top the 18 & Under age group. Her two-day total was 144 or two over par. She is now four strokes ahead of her nearest rival Holly McLean of the Cayman Islands who is on 148.
Eryn Blakely, the other Jamaican in the age group, had a rough day after posting 20 over par 91 on day two for a combined total of 171 and is currently tied for seventh place.
Matta Issa took over the lead in the 15 & Under category from her teammate Samantha Azan, who led at the end of day one. Issa, who is tied with Krishny Elwin of Puerto Rico, scored three over par 75 for a two-day total of 151, While Elwin scored even par 72 on the day.
Azan dropped to the fourth spot in the group. She scored seven over par 79 for a combined total of 153 but is just two strokes off the lead.
Alessandra Coe, the lone competitor in the 13 & Under group, remains in eighth place. She posted 99 on the second day for a two-day total of 202. Her group is led by Ava Savedra of Puerto Rico who ended the second day on 161 after scoring 72 on day one.
On the male side Ryan Lue improved his position in the 15 & Under group. He now lies in the fourth spot after ending day one in seventh place. Lue scored 5 five over par 76 for his two-day total of 159 which is 10 strokes off the lead of Huerto Rodrigo of the Dominica Republic, who is on 149.
Aaron Ghosh moved up in the category as well. He posted a better day-two score of 9 over par 80 to close the two days at 171 in 10th place or five places better than day one. Lek Drummond, on the other hand, dropped from 13th place to 16th place after posting 25 over par 96 on the day and is now on 186.
Rocco Lopez inched up one place to seventh on the back of 7 over par 78 and 156 overall. He trails Kelvin Hernandez of host country Puerto Rico, who shot three under par 68, the lowest score to date in the competition for a combined total of one under par 141.
Trey Williams and Aman Dhiman are in the same age group (18&U) and are in 12th and 13th places, respectively. Williams scored 80 for his two-day total of 162, while Dhiman scored 83 for his 163.
The final and youngest age group competitors – the 13 & Under saw Shasa Redlefsen and Kemari Morris maintaining their eighth and ninth places, respectively. Redlefsen scored 87 for his two-day 177 and Morris posted 89 for his 180.
The leader in that group was Evan Pena of Puerto Rico on 147 on the back of his 74 on the second day.
Coach Jason Lopez was upbeat about the team’s improved scores on the second day of competition.
“Today was a good day for the team. Emily shot one under par to win the Under 18 Girls overall for the day which was wonderful for the team. We had some other stand-out performances, the Under 15 Boys Ryan Lue and his partner Aaron (Ghosh) combined for a quite a good score, Ryan, I believe, was five over today. Generally, I think the team scored more points overall than it did yesterday, and we are of course hoping that will move us into second place over the Dominican Republic.
Thursday’s third and final day will determine the winners of the age group categories and the overall country winner.
