OVER 90 competitors, including several females and a large contingent from Suriname, will be doing battle in this year’s Digicel-sponsored Guyana Open Golf tournament which tees off at the Lusignan Golf Course (LGC) this weekend.

This was disclosed by vice-president of the LGC, David Mohammed, during his brief remarks at the launching of the tournament which was held in the Fort and Barrack Street-based boardroom of the premier sponsor Digicel (Guyana) Incorporated.
While thanking Digicel for coming on board in full with the tournament this year after being a sponsor for the past two years, Mohammed said the tournament promises to be an exciting one, taking into consideration the present form of the players who will be battling for supremacy.
“We had several great tournaments leading up to this one and in the last 10 years or so, we have never had so many entrants as we do for this year’s Digicel Guyana Open, with close to 90 players including 30 from overseas.”
Added to that, we have in the list of registrants, 20-year-old Avinda Kishore who last week shot a gross 69 without any par and he is one to watch for this tournament, along with several other players such as Alfred Mentore, Patrick Persaud and Roger Rajkumar,” said Mohammed.
“On the distaff side, we have players such as Shenella Webster, who carted off last week’s Safeway Security tournament which was one of the tournaments that served as a curtain-raiser for the Guyana Open, along with Christine Sukhram and a large field of female competitors from Suriname, so all in all we are looking forward to a weekend of exciting golf.”
According to Mohammed, the men’s category will see rivalry in handicaps 0-9, 10-18 and 19-28 with the best gross and net being rewarded, while on the distaff side, the players will compete with handicaps 0-36.
Digicel’s Head of Marketing Jacqueline James in her brief remarks said her company was anticipating good competition from the golfers, while she called on family and friends of the players to come out and give their support.
“It’s not very often we have this championships. It only happens once every year and this year promises to be more exciting than it has been over the past years. Of course, we have an overseas competitor here with us today, so we are hoping that everyone comes out and give support,” said James.
She said that her company is a part of the sporting fraternity in Guyana, since it has thrown its support behind every sporting activity, be it tennis, football, cricket, squash and now with golf.
“It is tremendous and is an opportunity for all. We go across Guyana encouraging persons to support our activities. We do have very young athletes and champions emerging from these competitions and we urge everyone to come out and support this tournament.”
Digicel Head of Sales, Nalini Vieira, stated that her entity was also excited to be a part of the tournament, while she hoped to see several persons giving their support to a sport that has emerged over the last couple of years, here in Guyana.
Rajkumar, who won the tournament in 2011 under the sponsorship of Banks DIH and placed second last year, said there are 20 to 30 guys out there who, on their day and with a bit of luck, can come out on top in this tournament.
He thanked Digicel for coming on board with the tournament as its premier sponsor, adding that the LGC recognises the hard work being put out by Digicel, adding that recently the average age of the winners is in the mid-20s.

(By Calvin Roberts)