By John Ramsingh
From the tender age of 10 years old, Joaan Deo began golfing at the country’s only golf course at Lusignan and the sporting discipline has enabled her to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Dental Surgery in 2017 making her one of the most successful sportswomen in Guyana.
One may say that Joaan was born to play golf since she was born into a golfing family. Her father, Chatterpaul, who is the current captain of the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) patiently taught her the finer details of the beautiful game that saw her rising to the top in the male dominated sport.
On the maternal side of her family is her uncle Papo Haniff who is the best golfer produced by the Lusignan Golf Club and nine-time Guyana Open Champion. Uncle Papo was also very instrumental in Joaan’s success on the fairways to date.
Along the way, Joaan has carted off the prestigious Guyana Open on two occasions (2014 and 2016), the Grand Coastal Open since 2009, the Scotiabank Open, Courts two-day Classic, MACORP Open, The Vish Trading Open, The Guy-Canam 2016 when she was paired with Jaipaul Suknanan; then there was that special occasion when she was paired with her dad to conquer the Sanjay’s Jewellery tourney.
In 2017, the pint-sized golfer played in three tournaments winning the Maersk and the Silica Sand Port Open while missing out at the Guyana Open. Her appearances on the fairways were limited in 2017 since Joaan was focused on completing her Dental Surgery Degree from the University of Guyana.
After graduating in November, Joaan said “Despite Dental Surgery having the disadvantage of being extremely complex, the joy of creating a beautiful and healthy smile has for me, far outweighed such a strain. Of course, the professional respect, the job security and the financial independence, which come with being a doctor, all complemented my choice,” when asked why such a profession.
In a society which is dominated by fast paced games including cricket and football, golf sometimes has a different stigma of being boring but the former Marian Academy student was quick to dismiss such claim. “Golf, as portrayed by the media, would appear to be a boring sport. But it is not until a neophyte has ventured to the tee box that he or she will be able to experience the excitement of this sport. I think the mistake which most persons make about golf is that they base their views of it based on appearance, and I would say this to them – don’t judge a book by its cover. You need to come to the course, grab a club and hit a ball. That’s all it takes. Golf is a lifetime sport which requires discipline and practice, and the rules are drafted in such a way that no one is left behind.”
Now that Joaan has successfully balanced academics and sport by putting in the long hours on the fairways to be a champion golfer and the even longer hours boxing the books to complete her degree, she is very adamant that it is not impossible. “The proverb, all work and no play makes Jack (or Jill) a dull boy (or girl) fits perfectly with the need to complement one’s life of sport with academics. Athletes are already disciplined in sport so it is not that difficult to excel in academics. I consider myself an athlete, but that does not mean I will limit myself to merely that; we must always try to balance the equation. It is my strong opinion that athletes need that balance in their lives,” the athlete added.
As it pertains to 2018, Joaan will be working hard to bring down her handicap to single digit as she seeks to compete on the international scene. The sky is the limit.
