Vinod and Taniya Sri Lanka’s junior boys and girls golf champs

The Sri Lanka Junior Boys and Girls Golf Championship 2017, sponsored by PRIMA SUNRISE BREAD for the past 10 consecutive years, produced two champions in the Boys’ and Girls’ categories representing the Gold Division for the Boys and the combined Gold and Silver Division for the Girls. 

Vinod Weerasinghe’s six over par 77 was enough to secure the title in the Boys Gold Division, by nine strokes from Armand Flamer Caldera. In a field of 13 Gold Division juniors, Darren Hall finished 3rd a further 14 strokes behind the runner-up.

The Girls Category combining the Gold and Silver Division saw a keen tussle to the very end between Taniya Minel Balasuriya and Kayla Perera. Locked together as joint leaders, both Taniya and Kayla were off to a great start in the final round birdieing the 1sthole!

Kayla dropped a shot at the 2nd to give Taniya the lead, which Taniya maintained extending the lead to two strokes at the 9th hole. Taniya’s birdie on the 10th to Kayla’s double bogey established a 5-stroke lead. Kayla showed tremendous resolve to fight back with a birdie on the 11th and par on the 12th to pull back 2 strokes. Taniya fired back with birdies on the 13thand 14th to lead by five strokes again. 

Kayla pulled back a stroke on the 15th when Taniya made a bogey and then finished with much grit making pars on 16th, 17th and birdieing the 18th hole, whilst Taniya made a double bogey on the 17th and just about held on to win by 2 strokes, the Girls Junior Championship combined for the Gold and Silver Division. 

Kayla Perera’s performance is all the more creditable, being one year younger to Taniya Minel, producing a 3-round total of 220, 4 over par for 54 holes. The two teenage girls Taniya and Kayla have proved their potential to Sri Lanka.

S. Duwarshan of Nuwara Eliya Golf Club, another promising 14-year-old won the Boys Silver Division comfortably by 15 strokes from Levon Niyarepola who improved in each round to return a 9 over par 80 in the final round.

Shanal Binushka won the Bronze Division by a wide margin of 22 strokes having led all the way in the 3 rounds, 42-hole tournament for the age group category 10 – 11+.

Kaya Daluwatte captured the Copper Division Trophy extending her overnight lead to 4 strokes from stylish left-hand golfer Reshan Algama. 

The Prima Sunrise Bread Sri Lanka Junior Boys and Girls Golf Championship 2017 being the finale of the Junior Golf calendar, was a fitting tribute to the progress made by all the juniors through the year. The scores reflect much progress and the sponsors Prima Sunrise and the Sri Lanka Golf Union Junior Sub-Committee Chairperson Niloo Jayathilaka should be given a thunderous applause and credit, for the promotion of junior golf in Sri Lanka, which is the cradle to foster and develop golf to the next level.

The interesting final days play was followed by a solemn prize giving and distribution of awards by Sunil Leeniyagoda, Director/Group Treasurer of the Prima Group Sri Lanka, the Chief Guest, representing Prima Sunrise, Priath Fernando, President of the Sri Lanka Golf Union, Council Member Ranil Peiris, and Junior Sub Committee Member Chandana Weerasinghe. Rules Committee members Johnny De Saram, Nishan Navaratne and Dian Abeywardena too gave away awards. 

Niloo Jayathilaka, Chairperson and the live wire of the Junior Golf Development Sub Committee, was the Master of Ceremonies and surely gets the ‘bouquet’ for a wonderfully conducted Sri Lanka Junior Golf Championship 2017.