Government will have to fork out more than $100,000 to a golfing professional who sued the trustees of the Island's golf courses over a contract.

Atlantic Golf Company director Rawn Rabain took the Board of Trustees for the Golf Courses to the Supreme Court where Puisne Judge Geoffrey Bell yesterday ruled in his favour.

Government lawyer Huw Shepheard, who represented the Trustees, told The Royal Gazette afterwardsthat it was a straightforward debt case involving a contract between Atlantic and St. George's Golf Club.

"It was a question of interpretation of the contract — were the trustees required to pay the wages of a caddy master or not?" he said, adding that the case had begun at the start of 2007.

Mr. Shepheard said the judgment meant the Trustees — a Government board — would have to pay about $80,000 to Atlantic plus interest, taking the total to $105,000.

He said some of Atlantic's claims were abandoned during yesterday's hearing in front of Mr. Justice Bell. Lawyer Mark Diel, who represented Atlantic, would not comment after the judgment.

The trustees closed St. George's Golf Club, on Park Road, on July 30 this year. Mr. Shepheard, who works in the Attorney General's Chambers, said there was no connection at all between yesterday's case and the club's closure.

Government has confirmed that the new course will be run by Addax Holdings Ltd. for Bazarian International, the developers of the new Park Hyatt hotel on the Club Med site.

This newspaper was unable to gain entry to Supreme Court Four for yesterday's hearing as, although the civil case was supposed to be held in public court, the building was locked.