It was another day of friendly competition at the North Sound Golf Club, with players of all skill levels teeing off at the Lions Club of Grand Cayman annual golf scramble tournament.
In the end, to the surprise of no one, national golfer Andrew Jarvis and his teammates from ‘RSM 1’ were the victors, besting 17 other teams including the Compass squad whose efforts were good enough to finish at the back of the pack – zero improvement from last year.
After winning the title with Calvin Hall, Alex Bodden and Marc Sparg, Jarvis said the charity tournament wasn’t about being first, it was about having a good time and giving back to the community.
“Whenever our company RSM sponsors these events, we always want to give back to the community. We’re only seeing how we can help the community and it’s more or less from my side just having fun,” Jarvis said.
Though Jarvis is known as one of Cayman’s top golfers, recently competing at the Latin American Amateur Championships, when asked if he felt his competitive nature kick in at this event, he responded: “You can have the most competitive players out here but they are on different teams, so it’s like, so what if you come first, you come fifth, you come last, it’s just about having fun and supporting. But playing one on one … that’s when it’s different.”
Cayman Compass comrades
The Compass team has found a comfortable place in the Lions tournament – dead last – but team captain James Whittaker sees no issue, though he acknowledged he had higher expectations.
“I must admit, I woke up with a sore back the next day after carrying my team around all 18 holes, particularly Seaford Russell Jr, who though much improved from the previous year, was still a liability with his tee shots,” Whittaker claimed.
“I will give him credit for being a killer on the greens, however, because the high point on the day was our partnership for a birdie, where I played a tee shot and Seaford rolled it in expertly.”
He noted that the team was missing key players like Conor Barry and Eric Vincent, who abandoned their sporting responsibilities at the last minute, with Rick Scott and Mark Westin coming in to save the day – or would shooting seven on a par four be considered saving the day?
“I thought we gave it our best shot with a hard-scrabble team,” Whittaker said. “I think we might have drunk more beer and had more fun than any other team out there and it was only about halfway around when we realised that racking up the highest score wasn’t the main objective. But, overall, we were pleased to cement our annual fixture at the bottom of the leader board.”
This year’s Lions Club golf tournament raised over $15,000.
Patricia Forbes, immediate past president and Lions Club International Foundation Coordinator told the Compass that the success of the tournament would not have been possible without the sponsors.
“Thank you to our wonderful sponsors in supporting the Lions Club of Grand Cayman with the Lions Golf Scramble 2025,” Forbes said. “It was truly a success and it couldn’t have happened without your kindness and generosity.”
