Written By Calvin Roberts
MARKETING Director of telecommunications service provider Digicel (Guyana) Inc., Jacqueline James, last Sunday told Chronicle Sport, they were happy to be on board with the just concluded Digicel Guyana Open Golf Championships, which was won by teenaged sensation Avinda Kishore at the Lusignan Golf course.Speaking exclusively with Chronicle Sport, while enjoying the final rounds of the action, James said the record number of entrants for this year’s tournament which was being sponsored exclusively by Digicel, was a heartening sight not only for the club, but the sport and to an extent Digicel.
“Just about 80 persons registered for this tournament and so far it is the largest they have had in the 10 years of organizing the Guyana Open Golf Championships and Digicel is happy to be on board with this, especially more happy at the response from the players, with it being our first,” said James.
She added, “We hope to maintain the relationship over the years with the Lusignan Golf Club and we will see how bigger it will get from there, as this is another area for us. Even though we look at youth and development, we don’t wish to leave out anyone.
A lot of times, people say golf is an older age group sport, but we do have young people who are competing amicably well with the senior guys for supremacy and we want to ensure that we cater for those people as well.”
“Golf is not well known across Guyana, but it is developing in terms of people getting more into the sport and knowledge of it going around the country and with Digicel getting involved, it is another way for the general public to be more aware of the facility like LGC which caters for persons who are interested in golf and they can come out and play, even in the tournaments we have sponsored so far.”
Looking at some of the competitors who participated in the tournament, James singled out former Guyana and West Indies player, Joe Solomon, who completed the tournament with a score of 162 and gross 210, while playing with a handicap of 24.
In fact, Solomon was given Honorary Life Membership to the LGC by the club members during the presentation ceremony last Sunday night, to which he expressed his heartfelt gratitude and thanks, jokingly admitting that he never thought he would have completed all holes.
“It is good to see someone like Mr. Solomon competing amongst the younger guys.”
“Golf is like a way of relaxation so for people who have had and even those who did not had success in other sporting discipline, this is a way of getting out there and being relaxed while doing something that they love, while not putting too much stress on the body, using the sport as a way of relaxation.
For some people, it is a way of mingling with the younger folk and also play catch-up with their peers, and even though he did not win any of the top prizes up for grabs, it is a great thing to see him (Solomon) doing battle out there amongst the younger folks” James related.
In reflecting on the two-day tourney, she said it was well organized and successful despite the weather. Even as she enjoyed the rivalry and camaraderie amongst the players, the tournament was a competitive one.
Kishore edged out his brother and defending champion, Avenash Persaud, for the title, with Persaud finishing second behind Patrick Prashad, even as seven times female champion, Christine Sukhram, won her eighth consecutive Guyana Open crown.
“If this is the competition at this level, for which Digicel is pleased and delighted, then trust me – I can hardly wait for next year, where the entrants is expected to be higher and the competition more competitive,” remarked James in her closing remarks.