Digana to host 6th Oman Air Golf Classic next month

Oman Air Sri Lanka and Maldives Country Manager Gihan Karunaratne (left) and Victoria Golf and Country Club General Manager Neroy Marso shaking hands after the event – Pic by Daminda Harsha Perera

The 2016 Oman Air Golf Classic is set to tee off at the Victoria Golf & Country Resort in Digana, Kandy on 3 September with over 70 golfers competing for prizes worth over Rs. 100,000.

The previous edition, which was held in October 2014, saw Tony Udagedera triumph in a close fought affair against Vidush Rajendran. This year’s 18-hole stableford tournament will see golfers, in both the male and female categories, compete for an array of titles. 

While there will be an Overall Winner and Runner-up, there will also be a title for the Gross Winner. Prizes will also be on offer in the Nearest to the Pin and Longest Driver categories. A variety of prizes will be on offer for all the winners, while the Overall Winner will walk away with a voucher worth Rs. 100,000 from Oman Air.

“When we started this tournament there were two main objectives,” said Oman Air Country Manager - Sri Lanka and Maldives Gihan Karunaratne speaking at a media launch yesterday. “The first was to promote golf in Sri Lanka, where not many corporate sponsors were promoting golf in at the time - now the situation is much improved. The second was to promote Sri Lanka as a golfing destination in the Middle East.” The latter is being done through Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, that is offering special golfing tour packages for interested parties in Middle Eastern countries such Doha, UAE and off course Oman. The hope is that this would offer Sri Lankan businessmen otherwise unattainable networking opportunities with prospective investors and business partners from the Middle East. 

“The event also acts as a catalyst in the promotion of Sri Lanka as a potential golfing destination amongst international players,” added Karunaratne. “Our aim is to capitalise on that positioning by collaborating with the Victoria Golf and Country Resort, a 73 course designed by world famous golf course architects, Donald Steel and Martin Ebert set against the majestic Knuckles mountain range.”

In 2014, the 120 acre Victoria Golf Course was voted “Asia’s Best Golf Course” at the Asian Monthly Golf Magazine’s Golf Oscars, while it was also recently named by Golf Digest among the top 100 most scenic golf courses in the world. 

General Manager Victoria Golf and Country Resort Neroy Marso added: “This event will see golfers from around the world come together at our PGA rated course. We are making arrangements to ensure both local and overseas guests are hosted to a golfing experience bar none.”