Cayman Islands golfers Justin Hastings, Aaron Jarvis and Andrew Jarvis will head to the Santa Maria Golf Club in Panama City, Panama to compete in the 2024 Latin American Amateur Championship (“LAAC”). Hastings, top Cayman Islands golfer and Grant Thornton Cayman Islands Ambassador, has just capped off a successful week by winning the strongest edition of the Grant Thornton Coach Invitational this past weekend, hosted at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. The 2024 LAAC will take place from 18-21 January and Hastings already has a past history at the event having been the youngest player to ever make the cut in the 2018 as a 14-year-old.

There will be a strong Cayman Islands contingent with Aaron Jarvis, the 2022 LAAC champion, and his older brother Andrew Jarvis also competing. All three made the weekend cut at the 2023 LAAC and were also in contention at the Grant Thornton Coach Invitational this past weekend before Hastings closed out his victory with a dominant Sunday round of 8-under 64 which included a remarkable three eagles in his 18 holes and a 12-under total of 204. Aaron Jarvis finished eight shots back in third place on 4-under with Andrew Jarvis in fifth on 4-over.

Apart from the Grant Thornton Coach Invitational, Hastings has been in fine form this past year recording victories at the Grant Thornton Fall Classic, Mirabel Maui Jim Intercollegiate and both the first and second events of the Grant Thornton Summer Series, as well as a highly impressive showing at the Pan American Games in November where he finished eleventh in a field packed with professional golfers.

“We have three very strong players representing Cayman next week in Panama and are very hopeful of a positive result for all three,” commented Cayman Islands Golf Association President Daniel Fortune. “The LAAC is a fantastic tournament for golfers in the Latin American region and the opportunities it affords the winner and other top performers is amazing. The entire region is very grateful to the Masters Tournament, the R&A and the USGA who are the founding partners of the event.”

“Best of luck to the Cayman Islands team heading to Panama for the LAAC. The hard work all of our local players have dedicated in this past year has shown in their strong performance and we are proud to continue our support as Title Sponsor of the Cayman Islands Golf Association,” says Greg O’Driscoll, Partner and Head of Asset Management and Business Development at Grant Thornton Cayman Islands. “We are excited to follow live coverage of the team at the championship as they continue to inspire other local players.”

The Cayman Islands golfing community saw firsthand the amazing opportunities Aaron Jarvis was afforded from winning the 2022 LAAC. Among other things, he was the first Caymanian to play The Open Championship and The Masters tournament and has been an inspiration to local golfers.

For those unable to travel to Panama to support their favourite Cayman Islands golfers, there will be live television coverage on ESPN 2 throughout the four-day competition.