… Large field expected

JUDGING from the present form that is being displayed by local golfers so far this year, picking a winner for the second annual Digicel Open Golf Classic is definitely not an easy task, when the action tees off next Saturday at the Lusignan Golf Course at 07:00hrs.

Yesterday at a simple ceremony held in the Barrack Street, Kingston-based boardroom of the telecommunications service provider, Club captain David Mohammed said the tournament is one of the biggest on the calendar of the club.
“I am happy to have Digicel on board with us once again as the sole sponsor of this tournament that is the biggest on the calendar of the club. It is a wonderful journey to work along with Digicel, whom we have partnered with before on several tournaments,” said Mohammed.
Looking at the lineup of players who will be competing for supremacy out of three flights which are 0 to 9, 10 to 18 and 19 to 28, from which a champion will be crowned and adorned in the ‘red jacket’, Mohammed readily identified players such as the defending champion Avinder Kishore, former champion Roger Rajkumar and current Ladies champion Christine Sukhram.
Mohammed believes that the excellent condition of the venue, especially the greens and fairway are in now, will make the tournament more competitive, even though it will best suit the foreign competitors.
“With the dry weather we have been experiencing for the past month or so, the venue is in excellent condition. Yes we would welcome the rains since it will aid in more ways than one, but as it is right now, the conditions would best suit the foreign competitors who are expected to come and do battle for supremacy.
However, having said that, I do expect the Guyanese players to put their best foot forward and ensure the ‘red jackets’ for both categories remain here in Guyana as some of them are in excellent playing status right now and this augurs well for a high competitive two days of golf,” said Mohammed.
He added, “The defending champions of both categories are ready and raring to go out there and defend their titles. In fact, they are ready to battle for the defence of their titles, while Roger Rajkumar is already here, getting himself acclimatised to the fairways and greens of the venue, so we do expect a high level of competition when the action tees off next week Saturday.
“There are golfers from the USA, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and neighbouring Suriname who are accustomed to the level of conditions being presented at the club right now, so you can safely say that the Guyanese golfers have their work cut out for them, if they intend to win.”
Sponsorship and Events Manager of Digicel Gavin Hope called on all and sundry to come out and support the event next week, with free admission to the venue on both days even as he called on the Guyanese golfers to make sure the championship titles stay in the Land of Many Waters.
“This is the second year we are sponsoring this tournament, applying our signature to it even though we have been associated with the LGC for the past five years,” said Hope.
He called on all to come out and support not only the Guyana Open Classic, but the sport of golf. He complimented the club for putting its best foot forward in ensuring the sport gets bigger and better as the years go by.
In an invited comment, Rajkumar said he is ready to do battle with his counterparts for supremacy and likened the course to those he is accustomed to playing on in the USA, even as Chatterpaul Deo and Esau Shamshudin promised this tournament will indeed be a classic.

(By Calvin Roberts)