On the Indian Circuit, Mithun Perera and Anura Rohana finished 4th and 5th respectively in the TATA Open concluded on Sunday in Calcutta, Jamshedpur.
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Sachin De Silva |
The winner was Indian Vinod Kumar at 8 under par 3 strokes ahead of Mithun, at 5 under par, and Anura Rohana, a further 1 stroke behind, at 4 under. For the 2 Sri Lankans to finish in the top 5 of this star-studded professional field in the Indian Circuit is indeed very creditable.
Sachin wins centenary
Sachin De Silva proved his metal holding his nerve and fighting back to record a brilliant nett 69 in the 'decider' 4th Round of the competitive Royal Colombo Golf Club Centenary Trophy Tournament concluded at the 'Ridgeways' last Sunday.
Sachin only 15 years but standing tall at about 6 Feet weighing a 'cool' 100kg +, strong, long hitting with a soft impeccable touch round the greens confirmed the promise of stardom when he got his Amateur Handicap before he was 10 years old!
To win the Annual Gold Medal for the best gross score over one round may not get the credit it deserves; still it was the best score without handicap among all participants in the opening round of the North East Monsoon Meet in rainy, soft ground conditions which meant that the course played long!
In the aggregate 4 round nett, highly competitive Centenary Trophy where every golfer had a winning chance with handicaps restricted to 18, Sachin held what seemed an unassailable lead of 5 strokes at the halfway mark but a disastrous nett 78 in the 3rd round cut Sachin's lead to 3 shots with a pack of seasoned campaigners breathing down his neck but Sachin proved he has what it takes to win under pressure and played some sensational Golf in the final round to score his third nett 69 this time off a 4 handicap having being cut from the 5 handicap he started the tournament with.
Sachin a 'block off two old chips' the son of two 'single figure golfers' literally has the 'breeding' to make a 'Champion golfer and credit has to go to mom Usha and the Sire Anil of course! Sachin cannot be praised enough for winning two major tournaments in the North-East Monsoon Meet the Annual Gold Medal the prime gross score event and the RCGC Centenary Trophy the prime Aggregate Nett Tournament over 4 Rounds.
The only other major event was the Clifford Cup played over the two Saturday's where Travin Fernandopulle came from 6 shots behind Sachin to win by one stroke from Priyanga Hapugalle who had two consistent rounds.
The early leaders in the Clifford Cup blew their chances of winning with poor scores on the day. Among other Golfers to shine were Afflli Raheem who on the other hand showed that he was not just the best dressed golfer on the course and coordinated both his swing with his colours to shoot a very creditable 66 to overtake the overnight challenger A.V. Rajendra and three others ahead of him including the Captain Vairavanathan to bag the runner-up title in the Centenary Trophy which incidentally is becoming a habit for him. |