As a boy Anura Rohana and his poor family lived behind the Royal Colombo Golf Course watching ladies and gentlemen from the elite society teeing off almost every day. His father RA Akmond served golf as a caddy. Customarily Rohana inherited his father’s job at a very early age. As a 12-year-old lad Rohana would rush back from school to caddy a golfer. This he did with great love. Thirteen years later Rohana began to sweep major amateur golf tournaments giving indications of a potential professional golfer. Today he has fulfilled much of his dreams as a pro golfer.
“Since 2002, the year I turned into a professional golfer I’ve managed to maintain my control in the Indian and Asian golf circuit. I have earned a very good reputation as the only Sri Lankan pro-golfer in the Asian Tour after Nandasena Perera and Lalith Kumara. But not having able to win a championship is a bit of a worry. These days I think a lot about it,” said Rohana during an interview with the Sunday Times.
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| Anura Rohana in action. (Pic by Ranjith Perera) |
As a pro-golfer Rohana travels around India and Asia to participate in about 20 championships per year as Sri Lanka only offer tournaments for amateurs. Rohana who is the third in line from Sri Lanka as a professional after Nandasena and Kumara has won only one title which is the Nepal Open in 2008. His involvement as a pro-golfer for the past nine years or so however has gone unnoticed in Sri Lanka.
“I won the silver medal at the 2002 Asian Games held in Busan, Korea, just before turning professional. If I may recall that was the only time I got prominence from the local media during my career. Apart from that little attraction nobody knows what’s happened around me during this time. We are ambassadors of this country as other international sportsmen but why have we been sidelined? ” asked Rohana.
Rohana (37) who is the breadwinner for his family of five solely depends on his golfing talent to run the household which is managed by his beloved wife. Rohana has three sons who attend school but none of them are keen to follow their father’s footsteps. Though Rohana was greatly inspired by his father’s love for golf, he also received support from Majula Karunaratne, Ruzi Captain, Sanjeewa Wickramanayake to achieve this level. Football has been another sport that grabbed Rohana’s interest during his schooldays but was unmatchable to golf which was in his nerves.
“You cannot force anyone to take up golf. It’s not like cricket or any other sport; you cannot make people interested in the game to play golf. There should be a liking for a sport like golf and when things strike, one can end up as a professional. Even my sons are not that keen on golf except for the youngest, who has a little interest which is still is not sufficient,” Rohana said that he is still learning about the game each day.
Though golf is considered a rich man’s sport, the professionals who are just a handful in Sri Lanka are interestingly from poor families. Before Rohana, Nandasena and Kumara turned professional and K Prabhakaran from Nuwara Eliya followed. But at present the three other golfers have pulled out from the professional tours due to lack of sponsors. Rohana somehow has managed to cling to his sponsor who has been supporting him since 2002.
“When you calculate, pro-golfing is a massive operation. As Sri Lanka does not have a pro-golf tournament our only salvage is India and each year I have to qualify to be in the top 60 from 120 golfers from the Indian circuit to take part in the Asian tour. When I achieve a place in the top 60, I can continue to take part in all the pro tours in Asia for the rest of the year. I have never failed during the past nine years,” Rohana who is eager to better his ranking said.
Recently Rohana found a companion in young Mithun Perera who turned pro last year. Both these professionals are guided by Ana Punchihewa who is the secretary of the Sri Lanka Golf Union (SLGU).
“We do not come under the Golf Union as we are professionals. The objective of SLGU is to groom the amateurs into professional level. We are results of this process and as pros we also support to see the success of this development initiated by Mr. Punchihewa.”
Though Sri Lanka is rich in its history of golf which exceeds over 130 years, the country only hosts tournament for amateurs. Professionals such as Rohana, Mithun, Kumara and Prabhakaran will be treated with prominence to their talent they possess if Sri Lanka is able to host a pro-golf tournament.
“It’s a huge task. The SLGU and some famous names in golf are drawing plans these days and the local pro-golfers are also in support with them. If it works out it will be the ideal platform to spread golf in Sri Lanka,” added Rohana.
Rohana who learned the game all by himself, watching others play and tee-off from his young age was highly pleased to see budding youngsters being guided by coaches. The SLGU in its progamme to develop the sport has initiated three amateur pools to represent Sri Lanka beginning from the youngsters. Rohana too willingly supports the cause when he finds time in-between pro-tour.
“During our days of emergence we were supported by golfers who had the money.
They let us borrow their equipment and helped us to achieve the level where we are today. You cannot call golf a rich man’s sport anymore. If it was limited to the rich men then how come all the professional golfers are from poor families? We were able to reach this level because of their generosity and support. Though golfers are restricted to hundreds in numbers, they still inquire about our well-being. I as a pro-golfer would like to see more joining in my brand,” Sri Lanka’s top golfer said. (Pic by Ranjith Perera)
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