JAMES JOHNSON is in Toronto for his second major golf tournament in a month, part of a road map taking him to the World Cup in December 2006 in Barbados.

Johnson, who missed the cut in the recent seventh Players Amateur Tournament in Bluffton, South Carolina, United States, will be competing again among some of the best amateur golfers in the United States.

After a three-day score of 218 in the Players event Johnson acknowledged that he was a bit rusty from this level of competition and did not produce his best.

The Porter Cup, which has a history of attracting some of the best collegiate, mid and senior amateurs in the United States, as well as quality players from around the world, has again been billed as a major contest.

The Cup will be played for four days starting Wednesday and could well be the best competition Johnson will face since qualifying earlier in the year with Roger Beale Junior to represent Barbados in the World Cup.

While the Barbados Golf Association (BGA) continues to seek corporate support for the team, its preparation has the oversight of manager Dennis Foster.

Foster said that the World Cup is a team event for top professional players and events such as the Players Amateur and Porter Cup will serve to sharpen up Johnson for December.

Johnson's playing partner Beale Junior, based in Canada, is scheduled to play in a number of events.

Johnson won the Beacon Barbados Open last month.

The Porter Cup comes on the eve of the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships in Jamaica during the first week of next month. Johnson will be the spearhead of the local team.