Regional Junior Open Golf Championship 2017
View(s):Vinod Weerasinghe, 16, of the British School in Colombo who is the current top ranked male junior, carded a superb 6 over par in tough course conditions for the two rounds at the Kandy Regional Junior Open Golf Championship held at the picturesque Victoria Golf and Country Resort in Digana. The effect of the prevailing drought on the fairways and the hot humid condition made strokeplay difficult for the young golfers many of whom struggled to overcome the conditions.
The long driving Armand Flamer-Caldera of S. Thomas’ College, last year’s winner, struggled unusually on the slick greens and had to settle for second place with a 17 over par for the two rounds. They were closely followed by T. Akash and Januka Dilshan both of whom carded a gross score of 164.
In the Girls Division, young Kayla Perera of Ladies’ College outshone the rest of the field gross scores of 82 and 80 over the two days. Anelka Desinghe of Asian International School came second playing fluid golf with scores of 96, 85 whilst Iman Sangani of Colombo International School who had a good first round of 89 fell away with a 93 on second day and had to settle for third place. Top ranked female junior Taniya Balasuriya struggled to find her rhythm, failed to impress and had to settle for fourth place with scores of 105, 82.
In the Silver Division for age category of 12 to 14 years, playing 18 holes, experienced S. Dhuwarshan of Nuwara Eliya Golf Club, had a comfortable win playing consistent golf over the two days with an aggregate score of 167. Both Haroon Aslam and Dilshan Malinda were tied on 177 but Haroon just managed to bag the second spot on the count back. K. Danushan with an aggregate score of 179 came fourth.
The Bronze Division for age category of 10 to 11 years, played over 14 holes, saw long hitting Nirekh Tejwani securing the top spot with a total score of 126 over Shanel Binuksha with a total score of 144 over the two days. Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (NEGC) juniors M.S. Sanjay, with a 150 and M. Lidurshan, with 152, took third and fourth place respectively. A vastly improved standard of golf in this age group was evident from the performance of juniors from the NEGC junior development program who are showing great promise.
In the Copper Division for age group of 9 and under, played over 9 holes, Kvahn Tejwani won by 5 shots with a score of 84 and took this most junior category win in style. Reshan Algama came in second with a total score of 89 following a sparkling performance on the second day. Tiny budding golfer C. Dharaniyan of Nuwara Eliya, with a score of 95, and Keshan Algama, with a total score of 105, managed to grab the third and fourth places respectively.
The event was conducted by the Sri Lanka Golf Union (SLGU) and sponsored by Prima Sunrise Bread. The awards were given away by Dr. John Scarth, member of the Junior Sub Committee of SLGU, Asela Wewita, the General Manager of Victoria Golf and Country Club and Ken de Alwis, the Secretary of SLGU. The next Regional Junior Open will be played in Nuwara Eliya on September 9 and 10. – NA
Results
Gold Division (Age Group 15-17yrs)
Vinod Weerasinghe 152
Armand Flamer-Caldera 163
T. Akash 164
J. K. Januka Dilshan 164
n Gold/Silver Girls Division (Age Group 15-17yrs) and (Age Group 12-14yrs)
Kayla Perera 162
Anelka Desinghe 181
Iman Sangani 182
Taniya Balasuriya 187
Silver Division (Age Group 12-14yrs)
S. Dhuwarshan 167
Haroon Aslam 177
Dilshan Malinda 177
K. Danushan 179
Bronze Division (Age Group 10-11yrs)
Nirekh Tejwani 126
Shanal Binuksha 144
M.S. Sanjay 150
M. Lidurshan 152
Copper Division (Age Group 9 and under)
Kvahn Tejwani 84
Reshan Algama 89
C. Dharaniyan 95
Keshan Algama 105