Pandit Ravi lights up Crown ECO Golf Tournament

Veteran golfer Rabindranath ‘Pandit Ravi’ Persaud outshone a full field of golfers battling for glory in the inaugural Crown [Mining] ECO tournament that was played on Saturday 14 September at the Lusignan Golf Club in honour of the late ‘Papo’ Haniff, former Lusignan Club Coach and golf coach in Trinidad and Tobago, who passed away on Tuesday September 10th in the twin island Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.

Crown staff take a photo op with the top performers of the Crown ECO Golf Tournament at the Lusignan Golf Club

Playing in the ‘B’ or 10-18 flight, in a group with veteran golfers Deoram Dinanath and Kassim Khan and with rookie golfer Jeremy Fernandes, Ravi turned in an outstanding performance in a flight where the keenest competition was observed to emerge winner with a score of 63/18. Deoram Dinanath (65/18) placed 2nd.
In that flight, some 11 golfers were bunched in a scoring range of between 67 and 73 strokes, indicating that fierce competition can be expected therein in the coming weeks. In that group were Satrohan Tiwari (67/18), Shanella London (68/15), Parmanand Persaud (70/12), Bridgelall Harry (70/16), Lekhnarine Shivraj (70/16), William Walker (71/12), Brian Glasford (71/17), Hilbert Shields (72/16), Bholaram Deo (72/18), Pur Persaud (73/15), and Ian Gouveia (73/15).
Before the tournament commenced, all present observed a minute’s silence in honour of the deceased, while bells were tolled.
LCG President Aleem Hussain also informed the golfers that two golf carts are now available at the Club as additions to enhance Club equipment.
As expected in the run-up to the Guyana Open of late October 2019, golfers have been showing marked improvement in their performances each week. In the ‘A’, or 0-9 flight, winners were Patrick Prashad (67/9) 1st, and Kassim Khan (68/9) 2nd. Other notable performances came from Mike Mangal (70/9), reigning Guyana Open champion Avinash Persaud (71/2), Club President Aleem Hussain (73/9), and veteran golfer Alfred Mentore (73/9).
Former Captain Patrick Prashad has been in winners’ row in almost every tournament since the year began. It is expected that his enviable performance will be targeted by those in his group in the coming weeks.
In the ‘C’, or 19-28 flight, winners were Maxim Mangra (71/19) 1st, and Pope Emanuel London (72/20) 2nd. Good performances also came from Guillermo Escarraga (74/22), Miguel Oviedo (74/28), Carlos Adams (82/26), Brian Hackett (83/21), Mario Acuna (87/28), and Eureka Giddings (87/28).
Specialty prize ‘Nearest the Pin’ was won by Shanella London and ‘Longest Drive’ by Avinash Persaud. Best Gross (73) was also won by Avinash Persaud, while the overall tournament champion, with a Best Net of 63, was Rabindranath ‘Pandit Ravi’ Persaud.
CEO of Crown Mining and Crown ECO, Patanjilee ‘Pur’ Persaud, himself a great golfer, expressed appreciation for the significant number of golfers – some forty – who turned out for the tournament.
Crown Mining Supplies is Guyana’s leading supplier of equipment and supplies for small and medium-scale gold and diamond mining. It has recently launched its new Crown ECO Division. The entity has been a supporter of the Lusignan Golf Club for over a decade.