Teenager Christopher Richards Jnr will begin the defense of his T&T Amateur Golf Open Championships title when the tournament makes a return to Tobago for the first time since 1983 at the Magdalena Golf and Beach Resort from Thursday (March 14) until Sunday (March 17).
Last year at the St Andrew’s Golf Course in Moka, Maraval, Richards, who won his first Open title at the age of 16 in 2021, won his second Open title in three years when he finished with a score of 295, five shots clear of Gabriel Vanososte of Argentine with 2022 champion Zico Correia, third with a score of 306, followed by Barbadian Xavier Wiggins (309), Liam Bryden fifth with a score of 310, and Jerseem Boodram (311) in sixth place.
Richards will start as the firm favourite to repeat as champion having won two straight Tobago Open titles at the same venue in 2022 and 2023. He has also tasted victory so far this year in the Championship Flight of the 2024 South Classic at Pointe-a-Pierre Golf Course last month with a total score of 219 in a come-from-behind fashion, after Brechin Castle Open winner Boodram held a two-shot lead over Correia and a five-shot advantage over Richards going into the final day.
Correia finished second (221), edging out Boodram (221) on a count-back and both men will once again be among the contenders with Boordram already tasting victory over Richards this year as well in the Brechin Castle Open in January.
Among the other contenders at the 11th staging of the event will be Ross Ramkissoon as well as former West Indies batting legend Brian Lara and ex-T&T ‘Soca Warriors’ and FC Porto footballer Russell Latapy, along with golfers Barbados, Bahamas, Guyana, St Kitts/Nevis, St Lucia, Jamaica, Canada and the USA.
Overall, more than 150 golfers are expected to contest the championship between the age of 16-84 which is being sponsored by the Sports Company of T&T (SporTT), The Prime Minister Sport and Culture Fund, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB), Angostura Limited, Kenson Group of Companies, First Citizens, Bmobile, Vemco Trinidad and Blue Waters Products Limited.