Rest of the World Team
This was another spectacular day for the Caribbean Golf Society. The Caricom Cup event which is the last game of the season and is played between descendants of Jamaica Vs The Rest of The World, this included descendants from many other Caribbean Islands. This is the 3rd consecutive season this event has run, and is only open to members of the CGS.

As most members left a clear sky and early morning sunshine in the Birmingham area, traveling west to Ombersley Golf Club in the Worcestershire Country side it was soon evident that the weather conditions were significantly worst.  We were greeted with some early morning mist and fog, this was a shock to most members who had gathered in the club house for an early morning hot drink, whilst meeting and greeting other members. However, the damp and overcast conditions failed to dampen our spirits as we all looked forward to doing battle with the opposition.

Jamaica Team
On arrival at the club some players met in the car park while others met in the club house, it was soon evident that the JA reggae boys would be wearing their smart new polo shirts which were specifically acquired for this event. The tops were in bright yellow with the Jamaican flag, obviously they meant business, early discussion in the club house bragging rights were exchanged between the players of both teams.  However, this got even more serious as both captains Emmanuel Sylva for Jamaica and Lloyd (Bugsy) Thomas for ROTW sat down to select the pairings for the 7 matches to be played.

Looking out on the golf course visibility was only just over 100 yards, but the conditions soon started to improve and got to an acceptable level to allow a timely start for the 1st group.  Soon after the start the fog started to lift over the gentle 320 yd. Par4 1st.  As the visibility improved the flag on the 1st green in the distance became more visible from the tee, this gave license to the big boys to pull the” Big Stick” out to drive the 1st green.  An hour later the course was bathed in sunshine for the remainder of the day; this enabled the members to remove some outer layers showing off their colorful tops as the ambient temperature rose.

ROTW the current cup holders only needing 3.5 points to retain the cup, Jamaica however, needs a clear win of 4 points in order to take the cup from the ROTW.

The first team out for Jamaican was Frank McCook the CGS Order of Merit Winner for 2012 and Linton Bell, both started strongly against Ansel Pottinger and Rodney Dillon, some good battles were fought as the ROTW tried to defend their extra handicap shots, however, this could not be sustained,  JA taking the 1st blood.  JA winning 3 & 1

The second team out for ROTW was Trevor Lammy and Bob Dhammi versus Dean Leith and Dave Smith for Jamaica. This group had a number of tightly fought exchanges with the lead changing from hole to hole.  The crucial point of the match was Dean Leith sinking a 10 foot putt on the 17th to take 1 point lead going into 18th hole. JA winning 1 up

The third team out was Eric Queely and Ian Higgins for ROTW against Keith Riley and Dave Brown for Jamaica.  This was once again another tightly fought game with no team being allowed to dominate.   All players continued to play steady golf refusing to give either side an inch, ROTW winning the final point to go 1 up in this game.

The fourth group out were Lloyd Thomas (ROTW captain) and Mary Riley against Josh Johnson and Alan Ferguson.  The ROTW captain leading from the front with excellent support from playing partner Mary, after a steady start they soon took an early grip on the game. The Jamaican boys had no answer and simply had to raise a white flag just past the turn. ROTW winning with a “Dog License” 7 & 6

The group five consisted of Nigel Harris and Clyde Pile for ROTW versus Michael Taylor and Ken Brown for Jamaica.  This was another one of those games where the teams could not be separated, both refusing to give an inch. The game was finally leveled on the 18th hole with a small mistake from JA, when Ken Brown had a two foot putt to win the match and missed. Match was halved.

Group six was Junior Harris and Jacko Powell for ROTW versus George Oliver and Winston McClean for Jamaica.  The game started with Jacko hooking his tee shot into the driving range and after picking up his ball he proceeded to tell Junior that he will decide when he can use his driver, knowing how much Junior loves his driver.  In summary ROTW was simply too hot to handle with Junior having a good caddy on the bag, JA simply had no answer to a wicked 3 wood from you know who.  ROTW winning 4 & 3

The seventh team out was Don Campbell and Eddie Acheampong for ROTW against Roan Mcleod and Emmanuel Silva (JA Captain) for Jamaica. This game was a well balanced game up to the 14th hole, however, but as ROTW turned up the heat, with Don sinking some long putts from opposite ends of the green JA found the heat too hot to handle. ROTW winning the match 3 & 1

Message from the winning captain Lloyd Thomas;

I would like to pay respect to all who turned out on the day to make this event possible and also to the people who work behind the scenes for the CGS.

Respect to Team JA.  I am sure you will be looking forward to challenging us and attempting to win back the cup and bragging rights.

Many thanks’ to all ROTW players whose team spirit secured another win for us.

Full Scores Below: