$13.8m Mercedes Benz among the prizes at Tryall-CUMI Golf Tournament

Western Bureau:

The organisers of the 2024 edition of the annual Tryall-CUMI (Committee for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill) Charity Golf Tournament, which will be staged on September 14 at the Tryall Golf Club in Hanover, will be seeking to raise $4 million towards CUMI’s programme to assist the mentally ill.

The popular one-day event, which is expected to feature more than 80 golfers, has attracted sponsorship from JMMB, Tryall, Stewarts Automotive, GraceKennedy General Insurance, Advantage General, BCMG, Rainforest, Appleton Estate, and Doctor’s Cave. JMMB is putting in $1 million.

“JMMB and JMMB Joan Duncan Foundation has had a long-standing relationship with CUMI. It goes back to one of their co-founders, Elizabeth Hall, who is the sister of Joan Duncan, who is one of the co-founders of JMMB,” said Kim Mair, the CEO of the JMMB Joan Duncan Foundation. “It is not just a golf thing for us. There is a deep connection. We have increased the sponsorship this year to $1 million dollars because it is not just about the financial support. It represents our shared commitment to making a difference in the lives of those who really need it.”

Stewart’s Automotive Group is again coming in strong this year, and they are donating a Mercedes Benz SUV (GLB 200), valued at $13.8 million, which will go to whoever shoots a ‘hole in one.’ For the past four years, Stewart has been donating a car for that purpose, but to date, no one has ever won that section of the tournament. The car will again go back to Stewart’s this year if there is no winner.

Trina Delisser, chairperson of CUMI, who spoke at Tuesday’s launch of the event at the S Hotel in Montego Bay, says expectations are high for a successful staging of the tournament this year.

“We have gotten tremendous support from our traditional sponsors, and some new sponsors have come on board. We are looking forward to making a little money to create and continue the programmes that CUMI does for rehabilitation.”

According to Delisser, the staging of the golf tournament, which replaced a 5K/10K Run Walk, was as a result of the fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected Jamaica in 2020.

“We did a 5K/10K Run/Walk at Tryall, and COVID-19 put an end to that. It got us and Tryall thinking and hesitating to go forward with it because it was huge trying to get the Ministry of Health to give us the okay after COVID to have the run again,” said Delisser. “The run was 600 to 800 people, and COVID was still keeping. We said then, what is Tryall best known for? Golf. When we suggested it, Tryall said of course, that is what we do best.”

While no names were released, Delisser is expecting that like the previous three years, some of the nation’s top golfers will be drawn to the tournament, especially with the chance of walking away with the Mercedes Benz SUV (GLB 200) vehicle.

“There are a lot of Kingston golfers coming down and really looking forward to playing at Tryall because I think Tryall is still considered one of the top golf courses in Jamaica. There is also the big prize, the hole in one, for the Mercedes-Benz,” said Delisser.

The event, which will be played in a two-person team scramble format, will tee off at 8 a.m. The entry fee is US$145 or J$23,000.