The Island Chapter Costa Caribe Pro-am took place Wednesday September 23 at 12:30 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. In a tie for 2nd place were professional Rafael Castrillo, Aaron West, Jason Tobar and Fernando Bobonis, with a score of (-3) 69. The tournament champion was Eduardo Figueroa with a score of (-5) 67. Thank you to host professional Tony Loyola and general manager Erick Krahn, as well as the rest of the Costa Caribe staff. The 2nd Annual Island Chapter Open is the next event on schedule. This important event will be held Sunday-Monday October 11-12. Afternoon tee times Sunday, followed by morning Monday times make this 36-hole event easy to fit into the tournament schedule. $250 entry fee includes 2 tournament caps, sleeve of Titleist Pro V1 golf balls, divot tool and ball marker, practice round, food and beverage following Monday's round, closed top 10 and ties qualifier for the PR open presented by Banco Popular and cash for professional winners, gift certificates for amateurs. To sign-up contact tournament coordinator Victor Ramos @ vramos@wyndham.com

The Island Chapter traveled to Costa Caribe Wednesday, September 23, 2009 for the annual Pro-Am event at the Ponce facility. Calm conditions made for low professional scores with five Island Chapter professionals shooting (-3) or better. In a tie for second place were professionals Rafael Castrillo Jr. 69, Fernando Bobonis 69, Jason Tobar 69, and Aaron West 69. The tournament winner Eduardo Figueroa shot a tournament low 67 (-5) for the victory. Thank you to Erik Krahn, Costa Caribe General Manager, Juan Antonio Loyola PGA head professional and the Serralles family for their hospitality hosting the Island Chapter for the second of three times this 2009 season. The remainder of the season includes events at Trump International (Island Chapter Open October 11-12), Mahogany Run (Pro-Am October 21), El Conquistador (Pro-Superintendent November 2), Dorado del Mar (Intra-Island November 8), Rio Mar (November 18-19, Pro-Am, Liberty Cablevision), Costa Caribe (Chapter Championship November 30).
Thank you to our important sponsors, Medalla, Don Q Serralles, Cocoa-Cola, The Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular, our host clubs and host professionals.

Monday, May 11th marked the Playing Ability Test for the Island Chapter @ Dorado del Mar Golf Club. Seven participants braved the rainy conditions to posted competitive scores for the event. Unfortunately all seven participants will need to re-take the exam before joining the ranks of apprentice in the Island Chapter. The next scheduled Playing Ability Test is scheduled for Monday August 11th, in order to sign-up please contact the PGA of America by calling 1-800-4PGAPRO or online at www.pgalinks.com, the cost is $100 per attempt with a $50 onsite fee to cover host facility costs.

The Plantation Club hosted their 2009 Pro-Am May 6th @ 12:30 on the Pineapple course in rainy conditions. Fourth place was Aaron West with a (+2) 74, a second place tie was between Eduardo Figueroa of Rio Bayamon and Rigo Morales of Caguas Real, who are both coincidentally tie for second in the 2009 points race. First place was taken by Jason Tobar of Rio Bayamon with a even par 72, this is Jason's second pro-am win in just three pro-am starts in 2009. Jason increased his points lead with a 30 point toal, Rigo Morales and Eduardo Figueroa are in a 2nd place tie with 24 points each. The Island Championship take place Thursday May 28- Sunday May 31st at Trump Interantional Golf Club. This is the first year the event will have a professional division and the low professional will secure a spot in the 2010 Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular. The event is $300 per player and is a four day walking event with caddies mandatory. This promises to be an important event for the Puerto Rico Golf Association and an opportunity for the Island Chapter to work and play more closely with the Island's amateurs. The next pro-am will be held Wednesday June 10 @ Berwind CC. This is the Island Chapter's first trip to berwind in over six years and the chapter is excited at the opportunity to get back to the first true private golf club on the Island.
Thank you to our important sponsors, Medalla, Don Q, coors light, Heineken, Heavy Putter and the P.R.Open.

Wednesday April 22nd, 2009 the Dorado Beach Pro-Am tournament took place at the historic Dorado Beach Resort and Club @ 12:30. In fifth place professionals Jole Ortiz and Jason Tobar with scores of 76. Fourth place was secured by host professional Junior Colon with a 75 in the windy conditions. El Conquistador Director of Golf Seth Henrich posted his best finish of the season with a 74, good enough for third place, while Rigoberto Morlaes continued his strong play in 2009 with his second straight second place finish. Our tournament winner was Rio Bayamon Director of Golf Eduardo Figueroa with an even par 72 on the east golf course. The next event is scheduled for Wednesday May 6, 2009 @ 12:30 at the Plantation Club. Thank you goes out to our important sponsors Coca-Cola, Medalla, Don Q, Heavy Putter, our host professionals and host facilities. (Correction from the last Island Chapter news. The winner of the April 2nd Pro-Am at Trump International was incorrectly listed as Rio Bayamon, the Winner was Jason M. Tobar of Rio Bayamon with a stellar score of 69)
A new event has been opened to the Island chapter professionals. The Island championships formerly the Island amateur no has both a ladies and professional division for 2009. The professional winner of the Island Championships will secure a spot in the 2010 Puerto Rico Open. For more information on this event, please contact executive Director Julio Soto at jsoto@prga.org
Island Chapter

The 2009 Dorado Beach Pro-Am was held on Wednesday April 22, 2009 @ 12:30 on the East golf course. Eighteen professionals and their 3 amateur teams participated in the event. Fourth place professional was host professional Miguel Colon Jr. with a (+3) 75 in the windy conditions, former Dorado Beach head professional and current El Conquistador Director of Golf Seth Henrich fired a (+2) 74 to take 3rd place, Caguas Real Assistant professional Rigoberto Morales finished in second place with a (+1) 73 and our tournament winner Rio Bayamon Director of Golf shot an Even par 72 to take the crown. The next event is the Plantation Club Pro-Am on Wednesday, May 6th @ 12:30. Entry for amateurs is $100 per player and includes, round of golf, food, drinks and prizes. Thank you to our important sponsors Medalla, Don Q, Passoa, the PR Open presented by Banco Popular, our host professionals and host facilities Trump International and Dorado Beach. For more information on the Island Chapter please contact chapter president Aaron West @ 787-310-7991 or by e-mail at awest@doradodelmargolfclub.com

The first Pro-am of the season may have been the best with host facility Trump International putting on a fantastic tournament Wednesday, April 1. Sixteen professionals with their 3 amateur partners faced off against the championship golf course. Fifth place professional was a tie between Brian Shaver (class A) & Rafael Castrillo Jr. (player card). Fourth place was Class A PGA professional Tony Loyola with an even par 72, tied for second place was Rigoberto Morales (player card) & Aaron West (class A) with (-2) 70's. Our first Pro-Am professional winner was Jason Tobar with a (-3) 69. With the Victory Jason Tobar takes over the points lead with 15 total points after participating in the Pro/Pro @ Dorado Beach and the victory @ Trump International. Defending points champion from 2008 Aaron west is in second with 13 total points. The next chapter event will be the Dorado Beach Pro-Am on Wednesday, April 22 @ 12:30. In order to sign-up for the event, please contact Victor Ramos @ 787-547-2000 or by e-mail vramos@wyndham.com. The third Pro-am of the season will be the Plantation Club event and will take place @ The Plantation Club @ Dorado Beach.
A gracious thank you goes out to the Island Chapter's sponsors Medall, Coca Cola, Don Q/Seralles, Charlie Surface and the Heavy Putter brand as well as our host facilties Dorado Beach and Trump International.
A reminder of our new participation policy that went into effect at the end of 2008 chapter season includes a cancellation policy of 48 hours in advance for professional participants. Any professional who fails to inform the tournament Director at least 48 hours in advance of the event and subsequently cancels will be warned for a first offense and fined for each subsequent offense $100 per cancellation, to cover the associated costs of the guarantees for the facility.