Amarapadma wins CAT Solar Pin Fernando Grand Prix January edition in style

From left: SLGU President Priath Fernando, Chief Marketing Officer Nalin Manoratne, tournament winner N. Amarapathma and Sales Manager  Solar Product- CAT Solar Murad Jayah 

Narhenpitage Amarapadma continued his consistent golf to win the January edition of the United Tractor & Equipment (UTE) sponsored CAT Solar PFGP 2017 by a clear 12 strokes.

Amarapadma achieved a clear cut victory with an overall 5 under par 279 over 4 rounds, 12 strokes ahead of the runner up B.A. Sanjeewa. 

Navinda Ranga finished third place a further six strokes behind the runner-up.

In the junior category there was a solid battle for supremacy and Lamindu Rainika overcame a poor third round to clinch victory by two strokes from Januka Dikshan. T. Akash, the leader in the junior division after three rounds, finished third.

The awards ceremony followed the conclusion of the fourth round and the presence of Member Amateurs W.A.K. Fernando and Nishan Navaratne making the cut, alongside players from the Navy, SLAF, Army and CSDF indicates further progress of the standard of amateur golfers in Sri Lanka. 

The junior category included for the first time in the Grand Prix paves the way for junior golfers too to be ranked in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). A total of eight juniors in the 14-20 years age group participated and the significant entry was Taniya Minel Balasuriya aged 14. She played creditably, displaying great courage and determination. Her efforts augur well for the future of Sri Lanka ladies’ golf.  

Sri Lankan golf’s future success is in the hands of youth and more youngsters participating in the monthly SLGU Pin Fernando Grand Prix can only develop the standard of golf in Sri Lanka. A program to introduce golf to schools is underway and the SLGU will make every effort to promote the game of golf island-wide.

Final results CAT Solar Pin Fernando Grand Prix 2017 – January edition

Winner – N. Amarapadma 279 (72, 65, 70, 72)

Runner-up – B.A. Sanjeewa 291 (74, 71, 69, 77)

Third place – Navinda Ranga 297 (78, 73,69,77)

Junior category

Winner – Lamindu Rainika 321 (79, 77, 83, 82)

Runner-up – Januka Dilshan 323 (78, 81, 79, 85)

Third place – T. Akash 324 (77, 80, 79, 88)

Ladies’ category

Winner – Sharon Hall – Runner-up – Fran De Mel