Taniya dazzles in Pakistan Golf Championship
Sri Lanka’s leading lady golfer Taniya Minel Balasuriya was the cynosure of all eyes at the inaugural PGF International Ladies Amateur Golf Championship held in Lahore. The petite 17-year-old was the first to tee off at the Defence Raya Golf Course in the historic event organised by the Pakistan Golf Federation from February 21-23.
She performed brilliantly in the first two rounds to lie in second place behind the eventual winner Phannari Meeson from Thailand but stumbled on the final day after finding the water twice to finish in third position. Meeson prevailed over her rivals with rounds of 75, 72 and 72 for an aggregate score of 219 to win the title by a margin of five strokes over her compatriot Chanettee Wannasen.
Taniya was just one stroke behind pace setter Meeson on the first day and two strokes ahead of Chanettee, hitting remarkably off the tees on all par-fours and par-fives with precise and error free shots for a gross 76.
However, Chanettee secured the runner-up position with scores of 78, 73 and 73 for an aggregate of 224. A triple double-bogey by Taniya in the final round saw her settle for third with scores of 76, 75 and 79 for a three-round aggregate of 230.
“I went to Pakistan for the first time. We were looked after well. The hospitality was good. I did not have any fears playing there,” said Taniya whose aim is to turn professional in the near future.
“I feel there is an improvement in my game. For the first time I beat a player from Thailand at least for one day. Their standard is very high and way ahead of us. It is an achievement,” said Taniya, who won the team gold in golf at the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal.Another Sri Lankan Kayla Perera finished in eighth position with rounds of 81, 83 and 83 for a gross aggregate total of 247. Sri Lanka secured second position in the team event. Female golfers from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Uganda, Iran, Afghanistan and Malaysia were taking part for the first time in Pakistan as international sport returns to the country gradually since militants attacked the Sri Lanka cricket team bus in 2009.
“The competition was high. I lost my rhythm on the final day. It was a difficult course because it was long and the fairways were narrow,” said Taniya who was scheduled to compete at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship (WAAP) from February 12-15 at the Siam Country Club Waterside in Pattaya, Thailand but the event got postponed to October because of the viral outbreak.