SANDY BAY, Hanover – Organisers of the 53rd annual Jamaica Golf Association (JGA) Open set to tee off at the Tryall Club in Tryall, Hanover, next month have expressed optimism that a full field of players will participate in the tournament.

The 54-hole event is set for December 12-15.

President of the JGA Peter Chin told the Jamaica Observer West earlier this week that the organising committee has been fielding enquiries, “mostly from players overseas”, adding that “indications are that we will have a full field of players”.

American Patrick Cover is the defending champion for the event after shooting 12 under par 204 to beat David Morland by two shots in his first time playing in the tournament last year.

The staging of the event had been put in doubt due to the coronavirus pandemic, but with the relaxing of the protocols set up by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to slow the spread of the virus, golf is among the first sporting events that can be played.

And while Chin said he is unable to release the names of the international players who have shown interest, he said “based on the responses and the questions about COVID-19 protocols that we have been getting, the indications are positive”.

He told the Observer West that normally entries did not start coming in until after the US Thanksgiving holiday, adding that after a meeting of the organising committee set for later this week “we would have a better idea”.

He argued that a recommendation from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that “international travellers should not be quarantined nor be subjected to sampling and isolation in destination countries”, could result in more players showing up for the tournament.