Mar 02 St. Kitts & Nevis is Showcased as a Golf Destination
Basseterre, St. Kitts - (March 2, 2015) - Teams of PGA club professionals and amateur golfers along with their guests all enjoyed the lush natural beauty and warm hospitality of St. Kitts & Nevis during the Fifth Annual St. Kitts-Nevis Admiral's Cup Pro-Am Tournament, held on both islands of the Federation from February 17-21, 2015.
"The Pro-Am tournament is a premier event to help build awareness for our twin-island nation within the lucrative golf travel niche market," said Racquel Brown, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. "Considering that we have a new championship course which is on schedule to open this year, Irie Fields at Kittitian Hill, and another championship course at Christophe Harbour slated to open in 2016 on St. Kitts, it is critical that we promote our product now."
The Admiral's Cup Pro-Am is an annual golf event for the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. It is a five-day team tournament in which a PGA Club Professional and three amateurs pair up to compete against other teams from golf clubs across the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. The 54-hole annual event was contested over the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club designed by Canadian course architect Thomas McBroom and the signature Robert Trent Jones II course at the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, two of the Caribbean's most scenic and challenging courses. Rounds one and three of the tournament were played on the links-style Royal St. Kitts Golf Club, an 18-hole course featuring holes on both the Caribbean and Atlantic which is managed by Marriott Golf. Round two was played at the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis, featuring the par 71, 18-hole championship mountain-side course that overlooks the Caribbean Sea and St. Kitts with a spectacular beach-side finishing 18th green.
All participants, guests, and sponsors of the Admiral's Cup Pro-Am were treated to warm hospitality and great golf. While temperatures dipped into the single digits back in the U.S., attendees enjoyed relaxing in the sun at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort & Royal Beach Casino, host resort of the event for the 5th year in a row. Additional event sponsors included the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, Cobra PUMA Golf, Carib Beer, Kantours and Brinley Gold Rum. All attendees were treated to nightly parties, on-course hospitality stations, and player gift bags filled with prizes valued at more than $400 USD. They also explored the island, going zipliningand dining out at restaurants from Carambola Beach Club to Fisherman's Wharf. After 36-holes of Team Best Ball competition, the CC of Columbus (Georgia) team led by Host PGA Professional Brian Stubbs held a one-stroke lead on the field at 121. Seven teams were within 5 shots of the lead heading into the final round's tough Two Best Ball format (1 gross + 1 net), including the Wilmington Island Club from Savannah, Georgia, the event's 2012 Team Champions. However, it was the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club #2 team, led by Amateur Louis Canise, a 2-handicap golfer who learned the game on the nearby island of St. Lucia and carded a 4-under par 67 on his own ball, pulled away from the field. As a result, Canise and his teammates Adrian Norford (Team Captain), Everton Harvey and Vernon Veira, were presented the winning Admiral's Cup by Racquel Brown, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.
The Royal St. Kitts Golf Club Team #2 was one of three entered into the competition from the Host Club, capturing the Championship with a final score of 246. Their victory marked the first time in the event's history that one of the host teams took top honors in the annual competition. The Wilmington Island Club consisting of Host PGA Professional Patrick Richardson and amateurs Ron Wodkowski, David Schaller and Wilson Tillotson, captured runner-up honors with a team score of 259, marking the third time in four years the team placed in the event. The Royal St. Kitts Golf Club #1 team of Team Captain Anand Harridyal, Harry Harridyal, Andy Orr and David Wright took third place honors, one shot back at 260.
To learn more about the Admiral's Cup Pro-Am and golf in St. Kitts and Nevis, visit www.StKittsProAm.com. The tournament is managed exclusively by The Golf Connection LLC for the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.
About St. Kitts:
In conjunction with existing courses, the Irie Fields Golf Club at Kittitian Hill, designed by former Masters Champion Ian Woosnam, and the Tom Fazio designed course at Christophe Harbour, will form a spectacular quartet of world class golf courses, each of which is adjacent to luxury resorts and residential developments. In 2014, LINKS Magazine included St. Kitts & Nevis in its newly created ranking of the Top 25 Islandsin the world for golf travel and it is one of just seven Caribbean islands on the list.
In fact, the twin-island Federation has recently appeared in a number of must-visit lists and rankings. St. Kitts is currently ranked, with sister island Nevis, at #3 on a list of the Best Islands in the World, #3 on a list of the Best Caribbean Vacations, and #7 on a list of the Best Beach Honeymoon Destinations in the World, #8 on a list of Best Caribbean Honeymoons, and #8 on a list of the Best Affordable Caribbean Destinations by US News & World Report. It is also currently ranked at #7 among the Hottest Places to Travel this Winter by CNN Money based on bookings received by Virtuoso, #8 on a list of the Top 10 Best Islands for a Holiday by Places To See In Your Lifetime, #14 on a list of the 50 Travel Destinations That Will Be Huge In The Next 10 Years as well as #8 on a list of the 25 Best Caribbean Islands by Business Insider, one of the Top 12 Best Caribbean Vacations on FlipKey.com, the vacation rental company of leading travel website, TripAdvisor. St. Kitts & Nevis has also been named one of the Top 15 Emerging Travel Hotspots for 2015by The Huffington Post and has been ranked by The New York Times at #34 of the 52 Places to Go in 2015. In addition, St. Kitts received the "Innovative Destination of the Year" Award in Caribbean Journal's Caribbean Travel Awards 2014.
Located in the northern Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, it offers a diverse tourism product developed from the destination's natural beauty, cultural heritage and rich history. The island's stunning variety of tourism attractions include hiking through the tropical rainforest, riding the scenic railway that connects the island's former sugar plantations, visiting the Caribelle Batik factory, and touring Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, the only man-made UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Eastern Caribbean. Among the more traditional vacation pastimes available are watersports, golf, shopping, tennis, dining, gaming at St. Kitts' exclusive casino or simply relaxing on a sandy beach. Accommodations range from intimate plantation inns to larger hotels and resorts.
For more information about St. Kitts, please contact the St. Kitts Tourism Authority toll free from the US at 1-800-582-6208 or from Canada 1-888-395-4887, e-mail info@stkittstourism.kn, visit www.stkittstourism.kn, or connect on Facebook, Twitter and/or YouTube.
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