Errol Miller (left), regional vice-president for corporate communication at LIME, presents the LIME Jamaica Open Golf Championship trophy to Johnny Bloomfield following his victory at the Half Moon Golf Course in Montego Bay on Saturday. - Contributed

Western Bureau:

When Jamaica's Johnny Bloomfield arrived at the scenic Half Moon Golf Course in Montego Bay last Thursday morning for the start of the 46th staging of the LIME Jamaica Open Golf Championship, he made it absolutely clear that his sole mission was to win the coveted title.

Cognisant of the history of the Jamaica Open, the Florida-based Bloomfield, who had previously won the title in 2006 and 2008 (there was no tournament in 2007), knew that winning would not only see him joining Seymour Rose and Mike Higuera as the only three-time winners of the championship, but also the only one to win three consecutive tournaments.

Disappointing first day

After a disappointing first day on which he shot 74 to finish eight strokes adrift of Canada's Oliver Tubb, who had an excellent 66, many felt it would be a very difficult task for Bloomfield to come back in the tournament. On the second day, Bloomfield improved with a 69, which saw him trailing Tubb by six strokes going into the final day.

"I will be going out there to play aggressive golf and see how much pressure I can put on those players before me," said Bloomfield, at the start of Saturday's final day of the three-day championship.

True to his words, Bloomfield set the course alight from the start. He birdied the first three holes and while his excellent start did not hold for the entire day, he none the less shot what turned out to be a tournament-winning 69. That gave him a combined score of 214, and a four-stroke win over Tubb.

"It feels great ... I feel fantastic ... winning three times in a row has never been done before so I could never be happier," Bloomfield said at the end of the championship.

In assessing his last day performance, Bloomfield said his sole mission going out was to put as much pressure as possible on Tubb and, in the end, he did exactly that.

Unsure of what Tubb was doing in the group behind him, Bloomfield decided to mix caution with aggression in a bid to give himself the best possible chance of coming away with a good score.

One step at a time

"I said to myself that it is a hard golf course so you just had to minimise your errors," said Bloomfield. "I decided to take it one step at a time so as to put myself in a good position coming down the straight, and I managed to do that."

When he walked off the course he was quite optimistic but was unsure as to whether or not he had done enough to win. However, after the scores were tallied, he was immediately elevated to cloud nine - he had won - creating history as the first man to win the title in three consecutive staging.

"I will be back next year aiming to become the first four-time champion," said Bloomfield, who pocketed US$14,000 for his winning effort. "I am already thinking about it."

As for Canadian Tubb, he was somewhat disappointed but really enjoyed the experience.

"It was a fantastic experience for me ... I had a lot of fun ... I enjoyed the hospitality and I enjoyed the golf course," said Tubb. "If my schedule allows it, I will be back next year."