THE RBC ROYAL BANK GOLF Classic is back.
And so is James Johnson.
Johnson, the defending champion, will be among 120 golfers who will tee off on the Barbados Golf Club, Durants, Christ Church, during the eighth edition of the two-day tournament on November 24 and 25.
During a press conference at the club yesterday, president of the Barbados Golf Association Hadley Byer noted that entries had been pouring in since registration forms became available last week and he was expecting the competition to be over-subscribed.
He said since there were more than 400 golfers in Barbados, it meant that the 120 spots which were available were always tightly contested.
Byer maintained that the competition was a marquee event on the golf calendar and he was again anticipating lots of interest from abroad. Last year foreign golfers made up 20 per cent of the entries.
A four-time winner of the competition, Johnson said that he was eagerly looking forward to the start of next weekend’s tournament.
“It feels good to be the defending champion and every tournament that I enter I aim to win,” he stated.
“I’m expecting my main competition to come from Julian Jordan and Scott Stoudemire, although there are certainly several other players who once they play to their ability will be challenging to beat.
“My approach however is mainly not to be focusing on the competition more so than on my game . . . .”
General Manager of the Barbados Golf Club Betty-June Leacock gave the assurance that by next weekend the golf course, which had been upgraded recently, would be in peak condition.
Speaking on behalf of RBC Royal Bank, corporate communications manager Joseph Charles said the company had supported the event from its inception and it was a pleasure to be associated with one of the island’s premier golf tournaments.
He said that the bank would this year be presenting a High Performance Award to the young golfer who showed the best attitude and character throughout the season.
