Golf starlet aiming to be third time lucky at WAAP
Taniya Minel Balasuriya will become the first female golfer from Sri Lanka to turn pro - Pic by Amila Gamage
Sri Lanka’s leading lady golfer Taniya Minel Balasuriya is hungry for success at amateur level before turning professional next year. The 17-year-old starlet, who helped Sri Lanka win the team gold in golf at the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal, takes on the world’s top players at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship (WAAP) from February 12-15 at the Siam Country Club Waterside in Pattaya, Thailand.
This will be her third attempt at this championship where players are invited to participate based on their WAGR (World Amateur Golf Ranking). Taniya, whose best ranking at one time was 911, featured in the inaugural WAAP held in Singapore in 2018, dropping out of the first round largely due to her lack of experience and in Japan last year, where she was a non-starter after falling sick a day before the event caused by the chilly weather conditions.
She will be Sri Lanka’s lone representative at the third edition of WAAP and hoping Lady Luck smiles on her this time. The event was developed by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) to unearth developing talent and provide a pathway for Asia’s elite women amateurs to emerge on the international stage, and will be supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
It is expected that 80 players from 19 Asia-Pacific countries will feature, with Thailand having the largest contingent of eight as the host nation.
“When I was small I wanted to become the President before I started playing golf,” chuckled Taniya when asked about her goals in life.
“Now my aim is to turn pro,” said Sri Lanka’s top-ranked amateur golfer who is willing to do the hard yards to achieve her ambitions.
“My life is golf,” said the reigning Sri Lanka Ladies Amateur champion on the eve of her departure to Thailand in an interview with the Sunday Times.
“I travel alone most of the time,” said Taniya, who is determined to go places in the world of golf.
It is no mean achievement for a daughter of a fisherman to rise up in the ranks and social strata in an elite sport where caddies like Nandasena Perera broke the barriers initially.
“I don’t follow the caddie. I play my own game. The caddie just carries my bag,” said Taniya, oozing with self confidence in her skills.
A fine all-round talent, she may have been lost to golf had she pursued a career in athletics, cricket or badminton. She was a fast bowler in the Colts junior cricket team but gave up because there were not enough matches and was twice overall champion at the school sports meet running in the 100m, 400m, relays, in addition to doing the long jump and high jump events.
She also played a little bit of badminton. But she was drawn to golf like a magnet having got a feel of the golf club from small days thanks to her father Asitha Roshan Balasuriya, who had played the sport a bit.
“From a small age I had a golf club. My father lived close to the RCGC (Royal Colombo Golf Club) and he knows about game. So I got a feel of the club. When there was talk that the Club was training juniors, my father asked me whether I like to play golf. I said yes,” said Taniya, who jumped at the opportunity to swing on the golf course.
Her obsession with golf saw her dropping out of Sri Jayewardenapura Girls School despite passing her O/L exam as she launched her golf career with gusto five years ago. She made her debut at the Prima Sunrise Junior Open and gained her maiden success at Srixon Junior Open being place third.
“Thereafter I came first or second in tournaments,” said Taniya who stamped her class and rose to become the top ranked junior player swiftly. The high point of her career was winning the Sri Lanka Ladies Amateur Open title in 2017, where she beat renowned golfer Thuhashini Selvaratnam and then Kyla Perera to retain her title.
At the age of 14, she won the Mackwood Ladies Strokeplay Golf Championship in Digana, Kandy. She has won the Regional Junior Open for three years, is a five-time winner of the Perera & Sons Junior MatchPlay Championship and HSBC International Junior Open winner twice. Her international debut came at the Thailand Junior Open and finished third at the All India Junior Open in 2014 and was runner-up in the event in 2017.
“My goal is to turn pro and join the Indian Professional Tour next year. I want to improve my game and win more titles before that,” said Taniya, who began with a handicap of 13 which has been reduced to zero now.
“When I began golf there were many obstacles and challenges. The first golf set was given by Mrs. Sumal of Access Group. The ladies and gents of the club (RCGC) and Sri Lanka Golf Union also helped. My father was my biggest pillar of strength and made many sacrifices,” she recalled while paying a glowing tribute to her coach Jehan de Saram.
“Jehan de Saram was my coach since I started playing. My coach helped me come to this position. Without him I would have not have achieved this position in golf,” Taniya said with gratitude.
As the stakes get higher, she wants to improve her game especially her putting.
“I am sometimes nervous when putting, which is my weak point. I have to be mentally strong,” said Taniya, who is confident of her driving skills despite her small frame.
She follows a strict training regimen practicing at the course from 8.30am till dusk daily, sometimes even on Saturdays, before hitting the gym to improve her power.
“I have no time for leisure. Saturday also is a half day. On Sundays I go to church. I did not study well also because I had no time when I started playing golf,” said Taniya, whose only indulgence is social media but her father does not allow her to take the mobile phone when she is practicing. May be he will relent once she turns 18 in July.
Asked whether she faced language barriers, she exclaimed: “I can speak English. I passed an English language course at Gateway. I fill visa applications on my own.”
Starry-eyed Taniya is clearly destined to go places in the sport of golf.