A strong Jamaican team of five elite players will seek to end a multi-year drought in the Hoerman Cup, symbol of male amateur golfing supremacy, when the 2013 Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships tee off at the Mahogany Run Golf Course, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, on August 4. The tournament ends on August 10.

The male players charged with launching Jamaica back to the pinnacle of golf in the Caribbean are Paul Thompson, Jonathan Newnham, William Knibbs, Christopher Clarke, and Ian Facey, and according to chairman of the selection panel, Brian Roper, all the players are in good form, ready and raring to go.

The team is being coached by experienced professional golfers Ewan Peebles and Spencer Edwards, who together have a wealth of experience at the top level. Edwards has been a Professional Golf Association player and his coaching résumé includes assisting three Ryder Cup and a number of European Professional Tour winners. Peebles is the winner of 15 PGAJ tournaments.

Jamaica will be competing against teams from The Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, and the US Virgin Islands.

“The players have worked really hard and are confident of doing well,” Roper noted. “We are well aware that it’s been a long time since Jamaica’s glory days in Caribbean golf, and while it will be a tall task, the team stands a good chance of challenging for the top prize.”

A lot of eyes will be on Paul Thompson, who is making his return to the Hoerman Cup team this year after a hiatus of a few years. He has been in scintillating form, being the National Amateur champion and top qualifier at the national trials.

His calming demeanour on the course does not outwardly show the steely determination and grit that lies inside. His desire to play well and bring home a trophy for Jamaica will help to push the men’s team to the top this year.

Facey, who started playing golf at the age of eight, is making his third appearance on the senior national team, after having a stellar junior career representing Jamaica. His favourite player is Jason Dufner, because of “the way he handles himself on the golf course and doesn’t let anything bother him”.

Teenage prodigy Newnham, the youngest person to play the Hoerman Cup for Jamaica at the age of 13, continues to play well in both local and overseas tournaments, completing a very successful senior year at St Andrews School in Florida. He now moves on to the men’s golf team at Mississippi State as a freshman in September.

Christopher Clarke is making his debut on the national team and says he is very excited to represent the island. The local fraternity sees him as having great potential to be the star of the Jamaican team with his length off the tee and a solid putting stroke. His family continues to provide sterling support and members are often seen on the course with him.

William Knibbs makes his second appearance at the Hoerman Cup this year. He was the low gross amateur for Jamaica at last year’s tournament and played a very steady and consistent four days of golf. This continued this year both on the local and overseas amateur tournaments.