In convincing fashion, and after weeks of strong play, William Walker turned in his best performance to win the Tropical Woods and Wood Products’ (Pandit Lumberyard) inaugural golf tourney on Saturday, January 4, 2020.
LGC President Aleem Hussain shares a moment with the sponsor’s family following the tournament. In picture, from left to right, are: Maxim Mangra, Lilowtie Tewari, William Walker, Anuradha Tewari, Anirudh Tewari, Shivani Sahadeo and Aleem Hussain
Playing on well-manicured grounds complemented by fabulous weather and environmental conditions, and with Captain Chen Deo electing to run two Flights of handicaps: 0-12 and 13-28, to accommodate the number of players in each category, all golfers were able to take full advantage of the course, and returned very competitive scores.
Competition was noticeably stiff when play came down to the final holes to determine the champions (prizes being awarded to the first two best net scores in each Flight).
Club President Aleem Hussain was profuse in his praise for the new sponsor, Satesh Tewari, CEO of Tropical Woods and Wood Products, who took the honours for being ‘Sponsor of the First Tournament of the Year’.
President Hussain disclosed that, already for 2020, he has on schedule some 35 tournaments, with some 30 more pending. He added that the LGC has “a fantastic lineup of activities for 2020, and it is our goal to host a minimum of 60 events in the year.
“This will break the record set over the past several years, and we expect it to be the best year for the club in recent history,” he indicated.
Continuing his aggressive performance from the closing months of 2019, former LGC Executive Member William Walker, owner of Oasis Café, dominated the 0-12 Flight and returned the overall Best Net score (69/12), not only for his Flight, but for the entire tournament.
Moreover, he had a clear three strokes’ lead over any of the other golfers in both Flights, and relegated Club President Aleem Hussain to 2nd place with 72/10, and former Guyana Open champion Mohanlall Dinanauth to close 3rd place with 73/6.
Another former Guyana Open champion, Mike Mangal, placed fourth with 76/8, Club Treasurer Aasrodeen Shaw returned 77/12, and former Captain Patrick Prashad returned 79/8.
The third-placed Dinanauth also won the Best Gross prize and the specialty prize of Nearest the Pin, while President Hussain produced a surprise-of-the-day win in taking the specialty Longest Drive prize (establishing that accuracy is a major factor in the game). His accurate driving of the ball from the tee-box onto the fairway caused him to win over longer but less accurate drives.
In the 13–28 Flight, former Guyana Open women’s champion Shanella London played extremely well (72/15) to earn the top position, beating Handsome Maxim Mangra (72/20) on the count-back off a tie. Mangra has returned to the winners’ row after a little absence therefrom.
Other great performances were returned by ANSA McAL head Troy Cadogan (75/26), Macorp Executive Jordi Pinol (76/28), former Club Vice President Dr Philbert London (77/18), and former captain Ayube Subhan (74/14).
The turnout of players was encouraging, as the entire Macorp team — led by CEO Guillermo Escarraga, Miguel Oviedo and Carlos Carbo — participated in the tournament; as did former captain Brian Glasford and players David Harry, Mahindranauth Tiwari, Ian Gouveia, Ramesh Amrud, and up-and-coming female contender Eureka Giddings.
