ST. ANDREWS, NEW BRUNSWICK – Teams from Argentina, Honduras, and Uruguay will tee off at Canada’s top amateur tourn ament – the Barrett Amateur Championship in St. Andrews, N.B..

Three players from Argentina, two players from Honduras, and two players from Uruguay will attend the elite invitational event which takes place at the Fairmont Algonquin Golf Course Aug. 2-4.

“Acceptance from these countries to participate in our tournament takes the event to the next step.” said Erin Barrett, managing director of the 2008 Barrett Amateur. “Our desire is to continue to attract and pursue top amateurs not only in Canada, but players from around the world’”.

The Argentine Golf Association team includes Ary Rodriguez, Sebastian Prado, and Armando Zarlenga. Rodriguez is ranked sixth in the Argentine National Ranking and third in the Argentine Junior Ranking. His recent finishes include fourth at the National Stroke Play Championship, second at the Norte Open and the 2nd National Junior Tournament, and first at the 2007 South American Junior Team Championship in Brazil.

Prado, who is 10th in the Argentine National Ranking, recently placed fifth at the National Stroke Play Championship, fifth at the La Prensa Cup, and first at the 2006 Buenes Aires Golf Club club championship.

Zarlenga is 11th on the Argentine National Ranking and sixth on the Argentine Junior Ranking. He placed sixth a the National Stroke Play Championship, and recently recorded first place finishes at the South American Junior Team Championship and the Southern Cross Cup.
The Honduran and Uruguayan teams comprise the top two ranked players in each country. The Honduras Golf Association team is Henry Kattan and Fernando

Simon, who stand first and second in the Honduras National Ranking. They both represented Honduras at the 2006 World Amateur Team Championship.

The Uruguay Golf Association will be represented by Rafael Rodriguez and Agustin Estefanell.

New Brunswick Golf Association executive director Pierre Arsenault is “very pleased” to have such a strong international presence at the Barrett Amateur this year, which also includes three South African golfers who are top 100 players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).

“As the Barrett Amateur continues to grow in terms of our quality of field and in terms of the significance of the championship, it will continue to help draw attention to New Brunswick. This is positive for our golf industry and for the province as a whole,” Arsenault said. “Hopefully, golf fans from all over the Maritimes will join us in St. Andrews as the Barrett will be a remarkable display of golf from some of the world’s top players. ”

About the Barrett Amateur
In 2007, the Barrett made its debut as a counting event on both the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) and Golfweek’s Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings (SPWAR). The Barrett finished the year as the highest ranked Canadian event on the WAGR. The champion of the Barrett Amateur will receive an exemption into the 2008 Canadian Amateur.