OCHO RIOS, Jamaica — The father and son pair of Russel and Cody Hulse were ecstatic after helping their team to first place at the 14th annual Sandals United States Travel Agents Golf Tournament staged here at the Sandals Golf and Country Club.

Both partnered with Chris Ward and Lindsay Foerster for the two-day event.

The team notched 59 on Friday’s opening day and 62 on Saturday for a combined score of 121.

Russel, a travel agent who hails from Idaho in north-western United States, could not contain his joy.

“It’s my second time here and the experience was awesome and everybody has been so much fun. I’m really happy we won,” he told the Jamaica Observer at Saturday evening’s awards presentation at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort.

“We’ve been selling Jamaica for about 16 years. The people make Jamaica a draw for tourists, they are always so wonderful,” the father added.

Cody, who said his dad taught him to play the sport, said the golf course at Sandals is one of his favourite.

“Words cannot describe how I feel about winning. This is by far one of my favourite golf courses, and the people, the caddies and everybody is out to have a good time and that makes it fun,” said the younger Hulse.

“We just enjoyed the moment and kept it as relaxed as possible. We made putts when we needed to and it’s nice that we brought home the trophy,” said Ward.

Miguel Arthurs, the general manager of Sandals Golf and Country Club, said the 14th staging of the tournament was another successful one.

“I would say it’s a resounding success; the focus has always been to highlight the Jamaican golf product, and by extension the Sandals Golf and Country Club. The initiative is really to bring in as many travel agents as possible from the US and showcase what Jamaica has to offer, so from the airport all the way to the golf course they experience Jamaican spirit, Jamaican hospitality.

“We put a lot in the training of the caddies; we call them your own, personal golf concierge, so it’s not just about the sport. There is the fund-raising aspect and the proceeds go to the Sandals Foundation. The foundation’s junior golf programme has been successful, producing golfers like Wesley Brown, who is the Jamaican number one golfer right now. We open the door to youngsters from the community free of cost, and it’s not just teaching golf, but life skills,” Arthurs said.