Fitz Neptune, president of the Tobago Youth Golf Academy that hosted the Caribbean Connection Golf tournament in January told the Tobago News that the Chief Secretary and the Tobago House of Assembly had honoured their commitment to fund the budget for the professional golfers and the top two golfers had already received their prizes prior to February 29.

Neptune emphatically denied that the meeting convened at the TATIL Conference Room, Milford Road on March 2 had anything to do with the payment of prizes for the golfers as reported in the Tobago News dated March 9, under the headline TYGA prize issue for pro-golfers settled, according to the mediator, Brendon Gray.

Neptune stressed that the meeting was about bringing the different golfing bodies on the island under an umbrella body and not about the prizes for the golfers in the Caribbean Connection Golf tournament. He added that during the meeting one of the officials queried about the situation with the tournament and the prizes and he said he told them that the THA was taking care of that.

According to Neptune, initially the THA had committed to the first two prizes but after the other sponsors failed to honour their commitment in a timely manner, the THA decided to fund all the professional golfers' prizes.

Neptune said that this was done to prevent any fall-out for sports tourism on the island from the situation and he and his organisation was extremely thankful to the Chief Secretary and the THA.

Neptune noted that they still owe monies for accommodation and other incidentals associated with the tournament but he is confident that the sponsors that promised the funding will deliver soon.