Tag Heuer props up with RCGC 100th Club Championship

RCGC committee for the 100th Club Championship

Colombo Jewelery Store CEO Akram Cassim handing over the sponsorship at RCGC Captain Jehaan Ismail

By Shamseer Jaleel

100th Club Championship on offer

The Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC), the second oldest Royal Club outside UK, will have the 100th Club Championship with Tag Heuer coming as the sponsor of this Centenary year.

Tee off is expected on 27 November at 6 a.m.

This will be the RCGC’s 142nd year a club celebrating its 100th Club Championship which was first played in 1914. This year’s event will in the format of two qualifier rounds on gross score, where the top 16 golfers with the best gross score then move on to a sudden death match play format, consisting of a pre-quarter, quarter finals, semi-finals, and a gruelling 36-hole final scheduled to be played on Sunday the 28th during the morning and afternoon sessions.

RCGC Captain Jehaan Ismail speaking to Daily FT said: “We are delighted to celebrate a Century of Golf this year. The 100th Club championship is a remarkable milestone for the club. Golf over a centenary ago was a niche sport, but today is becoming a very inclusive sport with the sports etiquette, traditions, and rules very much intact. 

“It has gradually become a sport played at various socio-economic levels in Sri Lanka and promises to produce some world class golfers in the near future. Over a century of Golf at the RCGC the championship has produced legends, and noteworthy ambassadors for the game, and it is with that spirit that we celebrate our 100th RCGC Club Championship.”

The late Pin Fernando has won this championship for a record 19 times followed by Rusi Captain comes a close second with 14 wins of this championship. In the Ladies segment, Lady Captain Anouk Chitty has won this for a record eight instances. The youngest to win this event was Amrith De Soyza at the tender age of 14 years and six months in 2001.

The 100th Club Championship promises some exciting golf to be witnessed by the defending champion and young golfing sensation Yannik Kumara. He could come in for some tough competition when he faces players such as Rusi Captain, Sachin De Silva and Amrith De Soysa and Nirek Thejwani. 

Youngest in the event will be the 13-year-old golfing sensation Reshan Algama, who could be a major threat for the big named players at this segment. Defending lady golfer will be Kayla Perera. She will have stiff opposition from Anouk Chitty and veteran and ever green golfer Niloo Jayathilake.

Luxury watch brand TAG Heuer has partnered with the RCGC in the 100th Championship Tournament. Speaking to Daily FT, Colombo Jewelry Store CEO Akram Cassim stated: “TAG Heuer was one of the very first global luxury watch brands to establish a strong visible presence here in Sri Lanka. Since it was first introduced locally in 2003, the brand has grown through continuous efforts of brand building to command its own niche in Sri Lankan luxury retail, which has now been further reinforced with the launch of the dedicated TAG Boutique Store at One Galle Face. 

“The partnership with RCGC marks yet another evolutionary turn for TAG Heuer in Sri Lanka, as it ventures into the sphere of elite sport with the backing of global principles.”

Pix by Jimmy Shadrack