The inaugural Copa Airlines golf tournament saw Mike Mangal, Ian Gouveia, Imtiaz Subhan and Shanella London winning their respective Flights on Saturday at the Lusignan Golf Club.
The ‘A’ Flight for 0-9 handicap saw former Guyana Open Champion, Mangal edging out the opposition with a 66/9 score to take the top spot.
Rigning champion, Avinash Persaud, settled for second with 68/2.
Richard Haniff rounded off the podium with 73/9 while Kassim Khan (75/9), Aleem Hussain (75/9) and Patrick Prashad (79/9) narrowly missed out on podium finishes.
In the ‘B’ Flight, 10-18 handicap, Gouveia carted off the spoils after a 65/15 score which was also the best net score. Trailing Gouveia was David Harry (69/14) in second.
Former Club President, Hilbert Sheilds, secured third with 72/16 after winning the four-way tie-break among Aasrodeen Shaw (72/13), Patanjilee Persaud (72/14) and Rabiindranauth Persaud (72/16).
Also churning out good performances in the group were Ravi Harry (73/14), George Bulkan (74/16), Guillermo Escarraga (74/18), Andre Cummings (75/14), Rakesh Harry (75/14) and Emanuel London (75/18).
Meanwhile, in the ‘C’ Flight, 19-28 handicap, Imtiaz Subhan (71/19) walked away with the title ahead of Maurice Solomon (72/26) and Bholawram Deo (74/19) in second and third respectively.
In the separate Ladies flight, former Guyana Open Ladies champion, London (67/14) copped the top spot, forcing Eureka Giddings (69/29) into second and the returning, Dr Joaan Deo (73/15) into third.
George Bulkan was the Nearest to The Pin winner and Troy Cadogan secured the Longest Drive.
Club President, Hussain, expressed gratitude to Copa Airlines and praised them for their good corporate citizenship by coming on board to be involved in promoting and developing golfing in Guyana.
He was also appreciative that in addition to prizes to the first three winners in each of four Flights, Copa had generously provided a gift bag with meaningful tokens to each golfer that participated in the tournament.
At the end of the tournament Sales Manager of the sponsors, Nadine Oudkerk and Sales Executive, Christopher Ferrell congratulated the winners and posited that Copa was delighted to be associated with the Lusignan Golf Club, the vision and direction it was moving in under Club President.
The two bodies also announced the decision to use golf as a means of opening doors to all Guyanese through training sessions and charitable outreaches.
According to Hussain, the deal is another major achievement for the ever growing sport, as more and more attention is focused on Guyana amidst the growth due to massive oil finds by ExxonMobil and Tullow Oil.
“We are seeking ways to give back to the local community in innovative ways and see this relationship as a strong means of accomplishing our goals,” said Nadine Oudkerk.
“After meeting with Mr. Hussain, we felt that our mutual goals would be met through our joint efforts and we look forward to a long-term relationship,” she added.
The two entities are planning several events throughout the year that will benefit charitable organizations along with expanding the sport to those who will benefit the most.
Hussain expressed “We see this as a win-win for everyone since as we in Guyana build additional high quality PGA standard courses, Copa Airlines will play a key role in ensuring that more golfers are able to see us as a golf destination.”
