Letter to the Sports Editor…Response to letter re: Female winner of DIGICEL Guyana Open Golf Tournament, 2014

Nov 08, 2014 Sports

Dear Editor,
The decision to select the female Guyana Open golf champion from net scores is not a ‘first time’ occurrence, it is not a new one, it also is not an anomaly and is quite ethical. While it is true that this tournament strives to reward the best golfers in both the male and female categories, it is not true that gross scores (without handicap) were always used to decide the winners.
Please be informed of these facts. Firstly, the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) is an amateur Golf Club, and as such performances should primarily be adjudged on Net performances rather than Gross performances in order to provide a level playing field for the golfers of varying abilities. Normally at the LGC, for all tournaments in the Medal Play system – as is used for the Guyana Open, – the Net score is used to determine the winners. Our records for tournaments for the past 5 years would suffice to validate this.
Secondly, the Executive of the Club has the authority to decide on the format of play for any and every competition. It is only required that golfers be informed beforehand of the format of play, after which it is the golfer’s decision to play or not.
Thirdly, the format of the Guyana Open for determining the female winner was in 2012 changed from the use of Best Gross to Best Net, under the presidency of Mr. Jerome Khan and captaincy of Mr. Rawle Moore. This format was maintained in 2013, under the presidency of Mr. Jerome Khan and captaincy of Mr. Chatterpaul Deo and in 2014 under the current president, Mr. David Mohamad and captain, Mr. Chatterpaul Deo.
Fourthly, in the three recent years – 2012–2014, notices of the format of play for the Guyana open were posted on the Club’s notice board and in social media, prior to the registration process. Permit me to quote the Guyana Times newspaper of Nov. 2, 2013 in an interview with Christine Sukhram prior to the Guyana Open that year. “They [the organisers] have changed the format this year for the Ladies – it’s a net competition and not a gross competition as was the case over the years. That would be a challenge for me, but it’s also one that I’m gearing myself for because the other three players would be coming hard at me,” Sukhram pointed out. (Ms. Sukhram went on to win the Net performance in 2013, just as she had done in 2012!)
Fifthly, 2012 was not the first time that the Net performance was used to determine the female winner in the Guyana Open. Prior to 2008, before the presidency of the late Mel Sankies and under the captaincy of Mr. Patrick Prashad, the Net performance for determining the female winner of the Guyana Open was introduced. During president Sankies term of office (2008-2010), the Executive used the Gross performance measure until 2012.
Respectfully,
Guy Griffith,
Public Relations Officer
Lusignan Golf Club