The skills of Guyanese golfers were put to the test over the weekend at the Tobago Plantations Magdalena Golf in Tobago as 94 players from around the Caribbean took on the challenging course to prove their dominance.
Ten players from various clubs, including two first time junior players from the Nexgen Golf Academy competed in the tournament and in the end, top female honors went to Eureka Giddings with current Guyana and Suriname Ladies Champion Shanella London finishing in fourth place.
Adina Arjune won both the Junior Long Drive and Chipping Contest and took second place in the putting contest.
Adam Arjune had the longest drive but lost the overall based on points.
Final scores from the tournament were as follows:
First Flight: Aleem Hussain (9th); Monaff Arjune (10th) Rakesh Harry (11th)
Second Flight: Panko ‘Steel’ Ramsundar (14th); Pope-Emmanuel London (20th)
Third Flight: Ganpat ‘Curry ‘ Hardeo (7th)
The two-day tournament was truly a test of skills and endurance but local players were at a disadvantage without having sufficient practice on the difficult course and fast, undulating greens.
Nonetheless, President of the Guyana Golf Association and Nexgen Golf Academy, Aleem Hussain spoke highly of the development of the game amongst juniors and said “it was gratifying to see our young kids perform under pressure playing in their first competition and especially outside of the country. The results from this tournament reinforces our contention that women and children are reshaping the sport in Guyana.
There’s a lot of work needed to create world-class facilities in Guyana so that our players can practice under similar conditions for international events.”
Vice President of the Barbados Golf Association, David Philips extended an invitation to Guyanese golfers to participate in the Barbados Open in September saying, “This is another step in strengthening sports ties between our countries that we believe will lead to major developments in the sport.
A major announcement between the two Golf Associations will be announced in the coming weeks.”
