Saturday, 6 July 2013 00:10
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Sri Lanka’s most exclusive and prestigious golf tournament, the Mercedes Trophy, took place at the Eagles’ Links, China Bay, Trincomalee on 29 June 2013. This tournament was organised by Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) and participation was exclusively for Mercedes-Benz, Jeep and Chrysler owners.
The tournament had 72 players, playing in four handicap groups (Group ‘A’ Handicap: 0-12, Group ‘B’ Handicap: 13-20, Group ‘C’ Handicap: 21-24, Group ‘D’ Handicap Ladies: 36). Players and their partners were given accommodation from 28 to 30 June at Chaaya Blu, Trincomalee.
The Eagles’ Golf Links, Sri Lanka’s fourth golf course and the only golf course along Sri Lanka’s picturesque East coast, was inaugurated on 7 January 2012 by the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa; Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke; Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama and Chief of Staff, Air Vice Marshal Kolitha Gunatilleke. The course is owned and managed by the Sri Lanka Air Force. The 171-acre course extends inland from the periphery of the bay, and embraces undulating lush greens and forested areas, with intermittent lagoons adding to the changing landscape. The Club House, located close to the first tee-off, faces the bay and is surrounded by rolling lawns. Eagles’ Golf Links’ fairways extend down from par-three to par-five, with plenty of challenges such as water hazards, sand bunkers, roughs and dog-legs, left and right. The view from any point of the ground is breathtaking, with walks along the fairway winding over undulating turf, arched bridges and through colourful bowers of greenery.
Some Mercedes-Benz customers flew in and out of Trincomalee, while others came driving in, in their Mercedes-Benz cars. A brand new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van was used to transport golfers’ and their partners from the golf club to the hotel and back. The golf tournament started off at 7:00 a.m. on 29 June morning with a single gunshot.
This event too was the occasion where DIMO introduced the all-new A-Class Mercedes-Benz range to Sri Lanka. The vehicles were displayed at the hotel and the golf club, where customers had the opportunity of test driving the cars and experiencing the vehicles first-hand.
The Trincomalee town and the access roads towards China Bay harbor, the Eagles’ Golf Links driveway, and the Nilaveli road were decorated with Mercedes-Benz and DIMO flags, highlighting the presence of the three-pointed star in North East. The grand awards ceremony was held on the beach at Chaaya Blu on the evening of 29 June. Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama, was the guest of honour at the awards ceremony. Ranjith Pandithage, Gahanath Pandithage, Channa Weerawardena, Suresh Gooneratne and Rajeev Pandithage represented DIMO at the event.
“The day was a great success,” said Ranjith Pandithage. “Our customers really enjoyed a great test of their golfing skills at Eagles’ Golf Links and then were able to relax afterwards at the hotel with their colleagues. We took the opportunity to unveil the stunning new A-Class and demonstrate a number of other models in the range. I was really pleased with the organising of the event; it truly was star-class!”
The winners of the Mercedes Trophy are as follows: Group ‘A’ Winner - Sidath Wettimuny, 1st Runner-Up - Arjun Fernando, 2nd Runner-Up - Ivor Maharoof); Group ‘B’ (Winner - Capt. Milinda Ratnayake, 1st Runner Up - Sunil Udalagama, 2nd Runner Up - Eraj Gunaratne); Group ‘C’ (Winner - Prasanna Goonetilleke, 1st Runner-Up - S Jegatheeswaran, 2nd Runner Up - Ton Sinh Thanh); Group ‘D’ (Winner - Usha de Silva, 1st Runner Up - Niloo Jayathilake); Nearest to the Pin (Winner - Kushal Johnpillai); Longest Drive (Winner - Thusith Wijesinghe).
