After two rounds and 36 holes of play, Jenna Bayles repeated as the female junior national golf champion and Zion Taylor walked away with the male junior national award at the 2021 Bahamas Golf Federation’s (BGF) Junior National Championships at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island this past Saturday and Sunday.
Bayles, 18, finished the two-round event with a score of 27-over par, coming out on top in the 16-18 female division.
“It feels good especially since it’s my last year as a junior and I did it playing on my favorite course. It feels great to win back-to-back, being the defending champion. It gave me confidence to come back out and win again,” said Bayles.
Bayles said this was the tougher one for her to win as she was down by three strokes to Nyah Singh after the first round of competition. Singh led with a 14-over par while Bayles scored a 17-over par. However, Bayles’ second round play was better.
“The first one was easier to win. In this second one, the winds were at 25 miles per hour (mph) yesterday (Saturday) and I was three strokes behind the leader. I was able to still come out and fight,” Bayles said. “My play today (Sunday) was a lot better than yesterday (Saturday). The winds were definitely easier, and I got more used to the greens. Today (Sunday) was definitely a better day for me and I’m glad I came out with the win.”
Singh ended the tournament third in that category with an overall score of 32-over par. Finishing second was A’Marie Smith with a score of 31-over par.
Taylor’s score of 16-over par was the lowest male score in the tournament. He was victorious in the boys 16-18 division. The 16-year-old was able to finish ahead of defending champion Heathcliffe Kane, who was second in that category with a 19-over par.
“It feels good,” Taylor said about winning the overall trophy. “I came a couple shots short before and this year my competitors started to make a charge and I managed to hold them off and came up clutch on the final four holes. I will be back next year to defend my title. Hopefully, the plaque will say Zion Taylor 2021, 2022 and 2023 Champion.”
Taylor said he was a little nervous coming into the tournament but he stayed focused on the final day to avoid dropping too many strokes behind. This was his first year in that category.
“I came into the tournament very nervous about my game – I was not confident. I managed to put it together and played well,” Taylor said. “My game was not in the best shape coming into this tournament. I started to get nervous and panicked. I kept it together by swinging within myself, kept my tempo going. My chipping and putting was good so that helped me a lot.”
After the first round, Taylor led by five strokes, ahead of both Kane and Benjamin Knowles who were tied at 16-over par. Taylor shot 11-over par in the first round.
Kane shot a better second round with a score of three-over par but Taylor was close behind him in that second round with a five-over par. Knowles finished third with a score of 34-over par.
In the tournament, a total of 74 players in six age divisions were in action, hoping to grasp the opportunity to be crowned the top national junior male and female golfer in the country. Chairperson of the BGF Junior Division, Gina Gonzalez-Rolle, said that the tournament was a competitive one.
“We had a smooth-running weekend. The weather on the first day was extremely windy. Some of the kids had a hard time trying to keep up with the wind so their scores were a little higher than normal. The second day saw clearer skies and a little wind. Overall, the players came out and were very competitive. The scores were close as some won by one or two strokes,” Gonzalez-Rolle stated.
Two players came in to play from Grand Bahama. According to Gonzalez-Rolle, there are usually more players from the Family Islands but because of COVID-19 the numbers dropped in this year’s tournament.
In the 14-15 boys division, Rhan Miller won with a score of 40-over par.
“I am happy with the win. I do not know about joining the national team, but I am glad that I won. I did good on the front nine and I did not do so well on the back nine but I got some one-putts that saved me,” Miller said.
Finishing second in that division was Patrick Farquharson with a score of 45-over par. Andrew Benjamin was third, shooting 71-over par.
Tyesha Tynes was the only female in the 14-15 girls division. She wrapped up the two rounds of competition with an overall score of 36-over par. She lowered her day one score of 21-over par by six strokes on the second day, shooting 15-over par in the second round.
“I am very happy considering that my score yesterday (Saturday) was higher, so I was focusing on beating that score and I am glad that I reached that goal,” Tynes said.
In the 10-13 boys division, Aidan Gorospe scored 24-over par to come out on top. Jackson Mactaggart was second after scoring 29-over par. Finishing third was Tomeco Knowles who finished with a score of 65-over par.
Chemari Pratt won the 10-13 girls division with a score of 50-over par. She was followed by Lilly Bisterzo who finished with a 63-over par. Haley Hall was third as she finished with a 69-over par.
In nine holes competition, in the 8-9 boys division, William West won with a score of 25-over par. Finishing behind him in second was Francisco Ortiz Von Bismarck Jr. with a 43-over par. Kail Bastian was third with a 48-over par.
In the 8-9 girls competition, Kayleigh Rolle came out on top with a score of 48-over par. Tatum Adderley was second with a 50-over par and Janai Miller finished third with a 72-over par.
In the seven-and-under boys competition, Luis Ortiz Von Bismarck won with a score of 35-over par. Esyn Hanna and Aden Jones finished tied for second with identical scores of 46-over par. Dakota Bastian was fourth with a 60-over par.
Zara Greaves won the seven-and-under girls competition with a score of 55-over par. Finishing one stroke behind her for second was Alyssa Richards with a score of 56-over par. M’Laysia Elliott and Payton McKenzie finished tied for third with identical scores of 66-over par.
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