Zen Dharmaratne youngest to win RCGC championship
The Royal Colombo Golf Club Championship is the significant signature Tournament which crowns the Club Champion for the year. First introduced in 1914, R.J.Elliot won the inaugural Championship and the Match Play format played on level terms without strokes, logically produced the best Golfer in the Club.
Zen Dharmaratne
Throughout the long and illustrious history many Golfing greats have won but Zen Dharmaratne at 20 years is probably the youngest to win this championship.This year saw the ‘change of guard’ or the new era at the RCGC with 2 of the four Semi finalists being past Champs in Rusi and Alain and the other two semi finalists aged 20 and 16 reaching the final toppling the more fancied past winners.
Zen Dharmaratne has truly come of age playing great Golf and showed great skill and maturity to overcome the experienced Alain Gyi 3 & 2 to reach his first final. In the other semi final 16 year old Sachin De Silva played exceptional Golf being 1 under par after 14 holes to beat Rusi 5 & 4 in an unprecedented upset as Rusi’s usual efficient,skillful game came under pressure considering the lack of match practice as against Sachin’s training and hard work. Sachin and Zen have evidently trained extra hard specifically for the RCGC Championship for 2 weeks prior to the tournament and the discipline and hard work really bore fruit. Ironically the training partners met in the 36 hole Final and Zen built an early 4 up lead after the morning 18 holes and even though Sachin played better in the afternoon Zen extended the lead to Six up and won his first RCGC Club Championship 6/5.
Whilst the Club Championship is worked out on level terms with matches played off scratch handicap the RCGC also conducted Match Play knock-out basis Championships for varied Divisions.The Silver Division considered the second tier though played off handicap,produced a sensational surprise package with Twelve Year Old Ishira Fernando, very small made playing off a 15 handicap, absolutely dumb founded much more mature Golfers with great consistency displaying a super temperament excelling in match play shot for shot,far beyond his years. Ishira beat Priyanga Hapugalle the recent winner of the Pin Fernando Trophy in the Semi Final and beat Affli Raheem 3 & 2 in the Final.
Affli went down fighting being 4 down at the turn but expecting Ishira to wilt under the pressure of a final which did not happen but giving Ishira 6 strokes took the game to the16th whereas Ishira won his previous matches before the 14th hole quite comfortably. The valiant ‘Men’ victims of Ishira’s innocent demeanour uttered in sheer disbelief “A star is born for the future- his consistency lack of fear or tension is unbelievable”. A great Sri Lankan hope for the future joining Zen’s ascension to Champion status,who already looks very much Pro- circuit material and Sachin maturing to hit the top very soon.The Bronze Division also worked out on Handicap went to Ravi Gooneratne another consistent player who beat former NCC Captain and Premier League Cricketer Nimal Ranchigoda a new entrant to Golf who is already showing promise on the Golf Course though it is very early days for him.
Dr. S.A.K.Abeywardena won the Senior Division defeating Tommy Wijayasekera in the Final, while the Masters Division keenly contested was won by Nihal Boralessa playing off a 14 handicap beating Pandula Kuruppu in the Final. Earlier Pandula overcame Maha Jayatilaka in the Semi’s while Nihal beat Ajith Dissanayake in the other semi-final.Zen Dharmaratne a worthy RCGC Champion at 20, with a great future ahead of him,an encouragement to the other youngsters, with a new crop of Junior Golfers is the future hope of Sri Lankan Golf.
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