Prabagaran to face tough opposition at Open Golf Championship
View(s):Defending champion K. Prabagaran is likely to face stiff challenge from other top contenders as the Sri Lanka Golf Union (SLGU) announced that the Sri Lanka Open Golf Championship would be held at the Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) in Colombo from January 31 to February 5. This year, SLGU has tied up with Bally’s Entertainment who are the main sponsors of the tournament thus making it the Bally’s Sri Lanka Open 2015.
K. Prabagaran will have a tough time in defending his title at the Sri Lanka Open 2015 this season.
Many records will be at stake with the defending champion Prabagaran from Nuwara Eliya Golf Club attempting his third back-to-back Sri Lanka Open win. His aim will be to create a record for his home town as the only golfer from Nuwara Eliya to earn such credential.
However, he will have many professionals queuing up behind Prabagaran to grab the championship. Anura Rohana who finished sixth last year is on the verge of establishing a Sri Lanka Open record if he wins it for the seventh occasion. At present he is tied with the great Nandesena Perera for most number of Sri Lanka Open wins.
N. Thangarajah, a discovery of Water’s Edge Golf Resort before moving to RCGC is waiting in line to add this prestigious title to his National Amateur and other professional titles won on the Indian Pro Tour.Another past winner Amarapadma, Sri Lanka Pros on the Indian Tour, Lalith Kumara, Vijitha Bandara and six Indian Pros too are set to face the starter. Other local golfers who could pose a challenge will include seasoned campaigners are K.A. Chandradasa, Arumugam, Harrison, Sisira Kumara, Ranga and Jehan De Saram.
Simultaniously, the SLGU, with the intention of promoting competition and fellowship to encourage more member golfers to play among Pros, will introduce the Sri Lanka Inter-Club Golf Championship on January 31. The member clubs of the SLGU namely Royal Colombo, Nuwara Eliya, Victoria Country Resort and the Defence Services Team comprising golfers from the Air Force, Army and Navy. These clubs will be represented by more than one team and of the teams named, the top 11 scores of each team will count on the stableford format to determine the winners of the inaugural Sri Lanka Inter-Club Golf Championship Shield. In addition the interest of individual and team events conducted by the SLGU will be of high for the Levers Challenge Shield, Levers Cup, Dudley Senanayake Trophy and the RCGC Centenary Trophy.
For the main event, the Bally’s Sri Lanka Open, which will be played from February 2 to 5, a record number of entries are expected. But the field will be restricted to 120 players. In the event the number of entries exceed its limit, a Pre-Qualifying Round will be played on February 1, which otherwise is allocated as a practice day.
In the meantime UTE will present the UTE-CAT Trophy and the Pam Fernando Trophy to the Gentlemen and Lady Members of Golf Clubs who will play on February 2 and 3, alongside the Seniors Championship, concurrently with the first two rounds of the Sri Lanka Open.
Spectator interest and participation will be expected in large number to witness professional golfers in action at the RCGC Ridgeways from February 2 through to February 5. The Bally’s Sri Lanka Open 2015 total prize money has been enriched by the title sponsor Bally’s Entertainment and the Co-sponsorship by UTE, DIMO’s and the Affiliate Sponsorship of CML Walkers.