Dianne Hudson created history when she became the first female to be crowned overall winner at the Lindy Delapenha Golf Classic last Saturday.

Hudson emerged champion from a field of over 80 golfers at the fifth staging of the event at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club.

One of only seven women to enter the tournament, Gooden amassed a total of 38 points under the Stableford format to run away with the title that was contested by some of Jamaica’s best golfers.

Hudson, who was winning a golf tournament for the very first time, was deliriously happy after being announced the winner.

“It feels so good. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would have won overall. I worked hard, I was hoping that I would even get a prize, like first or second (in the female category) but not overall. So it is just awesome. I am very happy,” she said.

Hudson believes that they key to her victory on Saturday was spending extra time working on her putting ahead of the tournament.

“I practised my putting, which was very important today, and it really helped me. I did a lot of one putts and that made me get a lot of pars, instead of bogeys, so that really helped, practising my putting, which is key.”

She has promised to return to defend her title next year.

“Certainly, I will be back next year to defend my title. I have always entered the Lindy Delapenha Classic,” she confirmed.

In the ladies’ category, Maggie Lyn took first place with a score of 35 points, Debbie Newnham was second with a similar score while Jennifer Mendes was third with 34 points.

The super senior men’s category went to Peter Chin who scored 37 points. Steven Chang was second with 35 points while Wayne Chai-Chong was third with 34 points.

Senior men’s was won by Dave Cameron who scored 33 points, Phillip Gooden was second with 33 points and Dave Marsh was third with 30 points.

The men’s category was won by Mr Jang who scored 33 points, Lindell Douglas was second with 32 points while third went to PJ Holmes with a score of 31 points.

Nevin Nish of presenting sponsors Keller Williams Realtors was delighted with how the day turned out in the end.

“We are very grateful how the day turned out. It ended before the rains came. The golfers came early and went out. It was well-organised.

“Kudos to the organising team and the tournament manager Peter Lindo, who has vast experience in running these tournaments and so everything ran smoothly,” he said.

Nish promised that his company would be back on-board next year to make the tournament even bigger than it already is.

“We are looking forward to next year’s competition as we have plans to make it even bigger and better.”

Tournament manager Telroy Morgan of the Munro College Old Boys Association (MCOBA) gave the tournament full marks and is already planning for the sixth staging.

“It was an excellent tournament. There was excellent teamwork, excellent planning, excellent execution, excellent support all around from sponsors, golfers, all stakeholders and we are looking for bigger and better for next year,” he noted.

Many of the participants received category prizes and Morgan was thankful for the support from the many, many sponsors, including the main sponsors who provided the cash to make the event possible.

— Dwayne Richards