Avinash Persaud, Guyana’s best golfer by a mile, further solidified his legacy on the lush greens of the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) Course yesterday afternoon to win his 12th major title.
Renamed and reformatted due to much increased interest, the Guyana Cup, now renamed the GTT Business Solutions Invitational tournament, saw two days of intense action among 96 golfers from countries such as Fiji, Suriname, Canada, the USA, Barbados and the locals.
However, after ceding a day one lead to Fiji’s Jai Len Rahman, Persaud stormed back in fine fashion to defend his title and end as the tournament’s best gross scorer (actual shots played) in the 0-9 flight (Professional category) ahead of countryman Vishal Dhani and Rahman to lift his 12th trophy at the LGC’s premier annual event.
In the same flight, Dhani lifted the trophy for the best net scorer (shot score after handicap strokes have been deducted) while Mohanlall Dinanath was second.
In the 10-18 flight (Semi-Pro), Colombia’s Miguel Yunes had the best gross score ahead of Ayube Subhan and Seepaul Suknanan who were second and third respectively.
Meanwhile for the net score, Yunes again took top spot followed by Subhan.
On the distaff side of things, Chloe Ajodha of Trinidad and Tobago, who recently celebrated her 18th birthday, showed great maturity and determination to claim the best gross score while Shanella London settled for second place with Christine Sukhram third.
Despite finishing as the best gross scorer, Ajodha was third on the net scores with Sabi Dhori claiming first place and Eureka Giddings second.
After the two days of action, LGC President, Patanjalee ‘Per’ Persaud in a closing statement declared; “This is probably one of the most successful tournaments in terms of attendance, especially in terms of international competitors. I must say a big thank you to all who helped organize the event as well as all the contestants”.
He congratulated the winners after which he put in a plea to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., to assist the club in expanding their course from its current nine-hole capacity.
“We have put it out to the minister that we want to increase the golf course to a 12-hole course so we can gain international status. This is something that we want to do. Something we are in the process of doing and we are partnering with other stakeholders to make it a better place.
Next year if the tournament is bigger and better, we expect to pass 150 competitors,” he declared.
This year’s attendance of 96 golfers has been the largest turnout at the tournament to date since its introduction in 1965.
Aside from GTT Business Solutions being the title sponsors, Oasis Cafe, Montra Bar, and Banks DIH also lent their support in various ways.
