By Yonalla Dalrymple
Mo Shafi and Christine Sukhram yesterday won the male and female titles of the fourth annual Digicel Classic golf tournament which ended at the Lusignan Golf Course.
The overseas-based Shafi, playing with a 20 handicap, ended the two day tournament with an overall net score of 131 to topple defending champion Roger Rajkumar.
Yesterday he ended with a net score of 57 after grossing 77.
Rawle Moore, who along with Kishan Bacchus led after Saturday’s opening day, ended in second place with a net score of 138.
Moore, who played with a handicap of 13, finished yesterday with a gross of 84 for a net of 71.
Sookram Deosarran placed third, Canada-based Salim Rashid was fourth and William Walker fifth.
Deosarran, playing with a handicap of five, ended with a net of 141. Yesterday he shot a gross 72 for a net of 67 while Salim, with a five handicap closed with a net of 143 after shooting a gross 73 for a net of 68 yesterday.
Walker, boasting a handicap of seven, ended with a net of 144; yesterday he shot a gross 78 for a net of 71.
Sukhram, who led the women’s section after the opening day, retained her women’s title after shooting a gross 78 yesterday for a net of 68. She has a handicap of 11. Joann Deo, handicap of 20 was second after shooting a gross 97 yesterday for a net 77.
Moore and Rajkumar were the first and second day Nearest to the Pin winners while Rashid were the winners of the best gross for the first and second day respectively while Bacchus and Shafi had the best net scores for Saturday and yesterday respectively.
Rashid and Mohanlall Dinanauth won the longest yards for Saturday and Sunday.
Deosarran copped the best net score overall on the male side with Sukhram gaining the honours on the distaff side.
Jacqueline James, Digicel’s Head of Marketing said she was pleased with the support the sport continues to receive but said that she hopes that the club can attract more golfers next year. James said this the fourth year that the phone giant was sponsoring what she hopes can be turned into a major competition.
President of the Lusignan Golf Club, Jerome Khan, said he hopes that they can advertise the tournament internationally given that Digicel is an international brand. The Digicel Classic, he said, is the second largest tournament on the golfing calendar in Guyana and as such it should be advertised to the world.
Unlike last year the tournament this year did not attract the number of overseas players who are usually here for the prestigious Guyana Open which is billed for ne
Also this year only two females participated in the tournament given the lack of participation from Suriname and French Guiana. The women from French Guiana and Suriname were welcome competitors last year for locals Sukhram and Deo.
