ROSE HALL, St James — Jonathon Newnham shot a one over par 73 to lead hosts Jamaica, who were second in the Hoerman Cup competition, at the end of the first day of the 59th Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships at the Half Moon course in Rose Hall.

Under a mercilessly hot sun, Newnham carded two birdies, three bogies as well, and but for third bogey, on the par four 11th hole, could have shot an even par score.

In the team competition, Jamaica tallied 19 over par 307, three shots behind leaders Puerto Rico on 16 under 304, with the Dominican Republic in third place of the nine teams taking part on 21 over par 309.

Puerto Rico have taken the lead in the overall competition for the Arthur Zaidie trophy, for the top country in all five competitions, as they also lead in the George Teale Competition (for women) and the Francis/Steele-Perkins Cup for seniors.

The Dominican Republic lead in the Ramon-Baez Trophy competition for mid-range amateurs, while The Bahamas lead in the Super Seniors Higgs & Higgs Cup competition.

At Half Moon, after a good start, and birdie on the par four second hole, Newnham ran into trouble with back-to-back bogies on the fourth and fifth holes and, while he was able to get one stroke back with his second birdie on the eighth to go back to level par, the third bogey put him back over par.

Meanwhile, Sean Morris, with a five over 77, was the next best Jamaican in the five-member team competition, while Owen Samuda shot six over 78, Ian Facey, seven over 79, and Williams Knibbs, 12 over 84.

In the individual event, three players — Barbados’, James Johnson, Cayman Islands’ Brian Ross and Puerto Rico’s Jeronimo Esteve shot two over par to be tied for second behind Newnham, while another Puerto Rican, Erik Morales, was in fifth place on three over par 75.

Jamaica finished the first day in fourth position in the George Teale Competition on 17 over par 161, as Puerto Rico lead with 10 over par 154, followed by Trinidad and Tobago with 14 over par 158, and the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) on 16 over 160.

Tiana Cruz was the best placed Jamaican player, tied for fifth on eight over par 80, while first-timer Madelyn Piciccini is a shot back on nine over par 81, with Kei Harris further back on 13 over par 85, tied for 13th place.

Yudika Rodriquez leads with two over 74 ahead of Trinidad’s Ysabelle Lawrence, who finished with three over par 75, while two players — Karina Sanchez of the Dominican Republic and Amera Alexander of USVI are tied for third on five over par 77.

At Cinnamon Hill, Jamaica finished tied for fourth in the Ramon Baez Cup with the pair of Gifford Wilmot and Mark Neswnham, on even par 72, trailing the Dominican Republic, who are three under par 69, followed by The Bahamas and USVI both on two under par 70 scores.

The hosts are fifth in the Francis/Steele-Perkins Cup at one over par 73 with Keith Stein and Radcliff Knibbs, as Puerto Rico lead with four under par 68, followed by Trinidad and Tobago at three under, and Barbados at two under, and Jamaica are fourth in the Super Seniors Higgs and Higgs Cup on one under par 71, as the USVI, Trinidad & Tobago and The Bahamas all tied on two under par 70.