… Ex 2-time champ keen on playing well this year

By Clifton Ross

WITH Golf’s major event of the year, the Guyana Open, soon approaching, seasoned ladies pro Joaan Deo says the road to the Cup has been good for the local fraternity.

Deo, one of Guyana’s ace golfers and a former Women’s champ said that the sport has endured another fantastic year with regard to the amount of preparation and work the players have been putting in, ahead of the 2019 Open.

Speaking with this newspaper this week during an exclusive interview, Deo outlined that the year has been similar to 2018 when Lusignan Golf Club (LGC), the governing body of the sport in Guyana, made overwhelming strides to host almost 60 sponsored tournaments.

The official launch was held last week at the Marriott Hotel, where Deo, along with others from LGC and sponsors, unveiled the trophies and game insight into the 2-day golf extravaganza.

“We’ve had a pretty packed golf year with tournaments almost every week and I can safely say that it’s the year with the most tournaments we’ve had, leading up to the Guyana Open,” Deo pointed out.
Golf has grown tremendously over the past 18 months with a number of new sponsors jumping on board to host weekly in-house club tournaments, while LGC’s membership tally has significantly increased due to the breath of fresh air which the club had been given.

The Lusignan ground has been in peak condition since the ending of 2017 which saw the Greens and Fairways being catered to by the club’s expert grounds-men with help from the Executives of (MACORP) Machinery Corporation Guyana, who lent a number of machinery equipment to the cause of rehabilitating and preserving the entire course.

Regarding the current state of the course, Deo lauded the efforts of the ground staff who, she said, are relentless in their efforts to keep the venue at its best possible state. “The guys are working on the ground and the team has been pushing a lot to keep the course in tip-top shape through the entire year,” she stated.
Additionally, this year will see more new faces both on the field and off, as newbie sponsors are tipped to be a part of the Open. “We’ve had a lot of companies on board with us this year, from small businesses to international ones”.

Deo continued, “I think Golf is pretty much on the map given the amount of exposure we had and most of our golfers have been playing frequently so I also think most of our locals with be in good shape heading into the Open.”
Shifting gears to a more personal note, Deo who won the Women’s Open title twice in her career; said that she will be participating in this year’s competition and plans to strengthen a few areas of play ahead of the Cup.

Deo was furthermore excited over the possibility of more female participants in this year’s event. “I will be participating in the Open and we are expecting more female players as well, so hopefully we will have a bigger field”.

“As for my game, I’m keen on staying on the fairways so I’m working on keeping the ball straight because once I’m on the fairways I won’t be giving away unnecessary shots,” concluded the expert golfer.

Meanwhile, the 2019 Guyana Open Golf tees off today at the Lusignan Golf Course and concludes tomorrow, October 27, with a number of local and overseas golfers vying for the coveted titles.