Saint Lucia takes three golf titles at Eastern Caribbean championship

Saint Lucia has come home from the Eastern Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship with three divisional titles, even though the island fielded a squad that bore little resemblance to the one that won overall honours a year earlier. The 2026 championship was played at the Aurora International Golf Club in Anguilla, where Team Saint Lucia secured three first-place finishes and three further top-five placements across the men's age-group divisions.

As reported by St. Lucia Times, the defending overall champions arrived without a women's team and without golf pro Yadhu Urs, yet still managed a strong return from the Seniors and Super Seniors ranks. Golf Saint Lucia Inc confirmed the results on the team's return this week.

The headline success came from the Seniors squad, who captured the Gross team title with a combined score of 321 strokes. Terry Verdant led the way on 161, followed by Eugene Edwin on 164 and Timothy Mangal on 168. The Super Seniors matched the achievement in their own fashion, taking the Net team crown with 157 strokes and adding a third-place finish in the Gross division on 178.

There were individual prizes too. Dharmendra Shah was confirmed as the Super Seniors Net winner with a total of 162, while Terry Verdant's strong week continued with second place in the Seniors Net standings on 151. The Seniors Net team also finished fourth in its division.

The men's open team found the going much harder. Missing the services of Yadhu Urs, the quartet of Corey Devaux, Keymanie Thomas, Samuel Richelieu and Jermille Daniel finished fifth in both Gross, on 528 strokes, and Net, on 487, and never seriously challenged the leading sides. Devaux was the pick of the group, taking tenth in Gross on 170, but the collective scoring underlined the gap Saint Lucia must close.

Golf Saint Lucia was candid in its post-tournament review about what needs to change. The organisation wants the men's team to be capable of breaking into the top four, and flagged player development, availability and preparation as areas to examine. Building a consistent women's team is also on the agenda, after the decision not to field one in Anguilla left the island without an official overall placement in the standings.

For readers who follow sport in Saint Lucia, the result is a familiar mix of senior success and open-division frustration. The island's veteran players continue to punch above their weight in regional competition, while the pipeline behind them remains a work in progress. That conversation matters at home, where golf is one of several sports competing for young talent alongside football, athletics and cricket in St Lucia's crowded sporting calendar.

Golf also has a distinct place in what the island offers visitors. Many people book holidays to St Lucia around a particular activity, and the main course allows travellers to hire clubs on arrival rather than carry them across the Atlantic, which suits anyone who wants a round or two without committing luggage space. Lessons and a practice area are available, so beginners can pick up the game during their stay.

The sport sits alongside the island's wider draw. Visitors weighing all-inclusive resorts in St Lucia against quieter guesthouses will find that the course is one of several reasons to stay in the island's northern tip, close to the beaches in St Lucia's Cap Estate area and a short drive from Rodney Bay. For couples, the same corner of the island is a popular choice for a honeymoon in St Lucia, and for families it is within easy reach of the activities that fill most lists of things to do in St Lucia.

The tournament also prompts a practical question for anyone following the regional scene: when is the best time to visit St Lucia if you want to play or watch? Championship golf in the Eastern Caribbean tends to sit in the drier months, when conditions are firmest, though the island's main course is playable year-round. Travellers planning a longer trip often debate how many days in St Lucia they need to fit in golf, hiking in St Lucia's rainforest trails and time on the water, and the honest answer is that a week allows all three without rushing.

Back to the competition itself, and the task facing Golf Saint Lucia is clear from the numbers. A Seniors Gross total of 321 is championship-winning form, while a men's open Gross of 528 left the side well adrift of the podium. Closing that gap will depend on the development work the organisation has promised, and on keeping experienced players available and prepared alongside the emerging generation.

Attention now turns to how GSLI rebuilds its squads before the next edition of the championship, with the stated goals of a top-four men's team and a settled women's side. If Saint Lucia's senior players keep delivering as they did in Anguilla, the island will remain a force in Eastern Caribbean golf; the open divisions are where the next chapter will be written.