Mike Mangal “cashes in” at Guyana Golf Association’s cancer awareness event

The Guyana Golf Association held its first “Shoot for Cash” event in support of Cancer Awareness Month, and proved that successful events can be held while adhering to strict COVID-19 guidelines.
The event was coordinated by Al Junior Wilson, Sean Barrington, Lynette and Michelle Codrington, and Philip Haynes who worked in unison to ensure that the photography and activities went off smoothly.
Players had the opportunity to win cash or GTT credit along with trophies and prizes, and the turnout was controlled by limiting the number of participants daily with the grand finale held on Sunday which saw the qualifiers from the preceding weekdays coming back to fight off their challengers.
On Sunday, the excitement was visible and tension thick, as player after player focused on the challenge at hand: hit 10 balls into a bullseye just 100 yards away with a chance to win $50,000 in cash!
But despite the handicap of having to hit from a longer distance than the women and beginners, it was the veteran Mike Mangal, former Guyana Open Champion who carted off the grand prize.
In the men’s professional division, Mangal fought off a tough challenge from his son, Rohan Albert, who came out on his birthday to support the event, and narrowly bested top position finisher Satrohan Robin Tiwari and past Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) President Aasroodeen Shaw, who came in second.
Samuel Carter, recently back from the United Kingdom, travelled twice all the way from Land of Canaan to qualify and compete in the men’s amateur division, his effort being rewarded as he took first-place honours away from newcomer to the sport, Ryan Gonsalves.
But the women’s division, with more than 15 women competing, saw the biggest upsets with two newcomers to the sport, Leota King running away with first and Shez Andrews taking second place.
President of the Guyana Golf Association and Nexgen Golf Academy & Driving Range, Aleem Hussain said: “Golfers in Guyana have been active in supporting charities, but especially cancer awareness for many years. Having experienced personal loss to cancer, our family of golfers are dedicated to helping as much as possible as was evident by the support by Banks DIH and Citizens Bank last year.”
He thanked the corporate sponsors for this year’s event including Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall; Yogendra Arjune, Assuria General Insurance; Karan Mehra, Vivaanta Ayurvedic Spa & Hair Salon; Sammy Arjune, Guyana Beverages; Paul Jiwanran, AR Printery; and Rudy Ramalingum of CIMGRO Maraiko Bay Golf Resort.
Hussain said he was especially grateful to see the event attended by experienced players from the LGC including past President Brian Hackett, Rakesh Harry, Mahindra Harry, Romel Bhagwandin, Ajay, Ian Gouveia, Adrian Barrow, as well as newcomers Linden Pickett, Michelle Codrington, Ashley Chu, and Ms Carter among the many who came out in support.
“With hundreds of golf clubs and balls now available, we expect to begin opening the sport, region by region in the hopes of bringing golf to the people in a manner that was never done before. Our goal is to have more than 2000 new players by end of 2021, and we will make it happen,” said an exuberant Hussain.
The Guyana Golf Association and Nexgen Golf Academy & Driving Range, partnered with the Scouts Association of Guyana and the Guyana Teachers Union, to develop the state-of-the-art facility located at Woolford Avenue, minutes away from the Marriott and Pegasus hotels, which is open daily until 21:00h (9 pm), offering classes and opportunities to sharpen your game, providing equipment and unlimited balls for a low price.