Haye teams with Brown to snatch Ocho Rios Charity golf title

OSHAE Haye on Sunday partnered with Carl Brown, in the absence of regular teammate, Zandre Roye, for a one-stroke victory, grossing 62 at the 22nd annual Ocho Rios charity tournament held at Sandals Golf and Country Club in Upton, St Mary.

Haye, who lost to Nick Tassoni and Raymond Rhudd last year when better back-nines determined winners from a three-way tie, won redemption in the absence of Roye, who was travelling from Argentina where he represented Jamaica at the January 16-19 Latin America Amateur Championship.

Haye and Brown prevailed by one stroke over Mark Newnham and Jodi Munn, winning three-night stays in beachfront rooms at Couples Tower Isle or San Souci, after 18 holes in the two-man scramble, which fielded 78 players.

Nett winners, Michele McCreath and Jerone Thomas, also won three-night stays at Couples Tower Isle or San Souci in the St Ann-St Mary hotel belt where the annual tournament continues to significantly impact its main benefactor, the Three Hills Primary School.

Newnham and Munn won two-night stays, along with nett runners-up, Toni Alison and Milan Roof, at the tournament, which raised close to $2.5 million, also benefiting Hamilton Mountain Basic School and the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ St Ann Spay Day programme.

Slean Harris, principal, Three Hills Primary, Prospect, St Mary, said proceeds from the tournament will go towards erecting a perimeter fence, further modernising the school, which was rebuilt at its present site after the hurricane of 1944.

In 2019, Couples used proceeds to convert a container at the school into a state-of-the-art computer lab with 10 new computers at an approximate cost of $3.7 million.

The 2022 tournament, returning after a two-year-break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, raised $2.3 million, which was used to construct a multi-purpose classroom.

Last year’s proceeds were used to tile the classroom, which Harris described as a continuation of Couples’ community-building.

Davee Williamson, senior executive assistant at title-sponsor, British Caribbean Insurance Company, said partnering with Couples and other sponsors for the respective charities aligned “perfectly with our commitment to youth development through sports and education”.

National Commercial Bank, Fraser Fontaine & Kong, Guardian General Jamaica, Iron Rock Insurance and Insurance Company of the West Indies, Advantage General and VIP Attractions also partnered with Couples as sponsors.

“We are particularly excited about the sponsorship. We hope our contribution will help significantly to assist the charities,” Williamson added.