What a great weekend the golfers of Belize had at the Belize Open 2011. Even though the weather was awful it could not stop players from the BAGA and our partners at the BGA from participating in the 2011 Belize Open, with 35 players attending.
It rained, it rained more and it rained more. Saturdays play was delayed for 2 hours to allow the course to dry. Even though the tee box on hole 6 was under water and unreachable the staff at Roaring River Golf Course did a marvelous job, coping with the difficult conditions and play finally got underway at 10am.
Golfers were wetter than a Tuna's bathing costume and the players fancy golf attire was soon reduced to a muddy brown ensemble.
Players competed in 2 categories.
Net Category, which was the score after the players handicaps were deducted from their Gross scores and
Gross Category, which was their actual scores.
After the first days play we had a run away leader in the Net Category. Sam Mathias who shot a net 59, with Saul Barrera (62), Nelson Gallardo and Jaime Gonzalez close behind with net 63. A pack of players were behind this group within striking distance of the leaders on day 2.
In the Gross category, William Mckenzie and Andy Hunt battled it out on Saturday, with William producing a fine gross score of 67 and Andy on his tail, shooting 68. Ray Garbutt Jr and Sam Mathias were breathing down their necks with scores of 71, leaving these 4 players clear of the field.
Sunday play was slow as the players focused and concentrated hard to play good shots and make their tricky putts.
In the net category Sam Mathias hung on in the final group with Nelson Gallardo and Andy Hunt pushing him all the way to the final hole. Sam held on and won the tournament with a 2 day net score of 2 under par with Andy Hunt and Nelson Gallardo tied for second with a 2 day score of 1 under par. Andy and Nelson were to play off for second place but as Andy had won in the Gross category he was not allowed to win in the Net category. Nelson Gallardo was awarded 2nd place with Alan Graham in 3rd spot. Ray Garbutt Jr shot an even par net score, which would have given him 3rd place but he was not allowed to win in 2 categories.
In the Gross Category Andy Hunt and Ray Garbutt Jr were paired together, with 1st day leader William Mckenzie in the penultimate group. Andy shot a 65 final day round and Ray Jr shot a 69, giving Andy Hunt the first place in the Gross category with a 2 day score of 133 and Ray Garbutt Jr second place with a 2 day score of 140. William Mckenzie finished 3rd with a 2 day score of 142.
Congratulations to everyone who participated. It was tough conditions for golfers.
Thank you to all the sponsors who supported the tournament. This includes :
International Refrigeration
Morgan and Morgan
Westrac
Ryle Architecture
Belize Jungle Dome
Hot Mamas
BRC Printing
Kiba Designs
Westar
Garbutt Service Station
Astrum Helicopters
Belize Amateur Golf Association
CESSA
Femagra Industries
Corkers Restaurant and Hibiscus Hotel
Roses
International Refrigeration
JDB Ltd
BELIZE OPEN 2011 RESULTS
Net Category. 2 Day Total :
-2 Sam Mathias
-1 Andy Hunt
-1 Nelson Gallardo
+0 Ray Garbutt Jr
+1 Alan Graham
+3 Efrain Medina Jr
+4 Saul Barrera
+6 Gustavo Giron
+6 William Mckenzie
+7 Eleazar Portillo
+8 Ryan Garbutt
+8 Jaime Gonzalez
+9 Ray Garbutt Sr
+11 Tim Heath
+11 Pedro Lizarraga
+13 Decon Cal
+13 Steve Maestre
+14 Dalix Hernandez
+15 Demetrio Cortez
+16 Harold Nava
+16 Guillermo Rivas
+16 Ryne Lizarraga
+17 Ivan Hernandez
+18 Naim Musa
+20 Efrain Medina Sr
+26 Jim Comber
+26 Peter Allen
+33 Karl Ayers
+34 Paul Martin
+43 Amir Escobar
DNP Robert Lee
DNP Boris Vostry
DNP Mickey Thorton
DNP Oliver Colon
DNP Duane Arnold
Gross Category. 2 Day total :
133 - Andy Hunt
140 - Ray Garbutt Jr
142 - William Mckenzie
149 - Alan Graham
150 - Sam Mathias
152 - Ryan Garbutt
153 - Nelson Gallardo
153 - Tim Heath
156 - Saul Barrera
158 - Jaime Gonzalez
163 - Steve Maestre
171 - Efrain Medina Jr
171 - Ray Garbutt Sr
171 - Pedro Lizarraga
174 - Paul Martin
176 - Jim Comber
178 - Gustavo Giron
178 - Peter Allen
179 - Decon Cal
181 - Demetrio Cortez
184 - Naim Musa
187 - Ivan Hernandez
190 - Harold Nava
192 - Ryne Lizarraga
193 - Karl Ayers
202 - Efrain Medina Sr
205 - Amir Escobar
209 - Eleazar Portillo
214 - Guillermo Rivas
216 - Dalix Hernandez
DNP - Boris Vestly
DNP - Mickey Thorton
DNP - Robert Lee
DNP - Duane Arnold
DNP - Oliver Colon
Other Prizes :
Tim Heath - Saturday - Closest to the Pin #1 and #10 - sponsored by Gobie Challenge
Sam Mathias - Saturday - Closest to the Pin #3 and #12 - sponsored by Westrac
William Mckenzie - Saturday - Closest to the Pin #5 and #14 - sponsored by Westar
Demetrio Cortez - Saturday - Closest to the Pin #7 and #16 - sponsored by Gobie Challenge
Paul Martin - Saturday - Longest Drive on #15 - sponsored by Corkers
Karl Ayres - Sunday - Closest to the Pin #1 and #10 - sponsored by Mickey Thornton
Paul Martin - Sunday - Closest to the Pin #3 and #12 - sponsored by Gobie Challenge
Andy Hunt - Sunday - Closest to the Pin #7 and #16 - sponsored by JDB Ltd
There are lots of photos from the tournament on the BGA Facebook page here :
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Belize-Golf-Association/143905092370734
