Oman Air Golf Classic Tournament 2012 to tee-off in October

By Shanuka Tissera

The third Oman Air Golf Classic Tournament will take place at the Victoria Golf and Country Resort at Digana, Kandy, on 27 and 28 October 2012. The tournament is sponsored by Oman Air and organised by the Victoria Golf and Country Resort.

Nearly 120 golfers from Sri Lanka, Oman and Europe are expected to participate in this year’s Oman Air golf classic. Last year saw a fully packed tournament with over 20 Gulf and Middle East players.

This year, the organising committee are looking to generate interest from Europe, specifically Germany.  Winners will receive a grand prize air ticket from Oman Air with competitions for the overall winner and runner up, the gross winner, nearest to the pin and longest driver in ladies and gents categories.

Oman Air – Country Manager Gihan Karunaratne said: “We are pleased to announce the Oman Air golf classic 2012, which has become a celebrated sporting event in Sri Lanka and in the region’s golfing calendar. This year’s event promises some exciting competition amongst some of the leading businessmen from Sri Lanka and the Middle East.”

Oman Air is closely associated with golf and is looking to further popularize the sport which is growing in demand. Victoria Golf Club General Manager Errol Johnston shared how there is high demand for golf today in Sri Lanka.

“We are seeing strong membership and subscriptions to golf clubs around Sri Lanka, we are trying to promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination for golfers and we are confident with how golf has been accepted by the community.”

Victoria Golf and Country Resort is a 500 acre estate on the edge of the Victoria reservoir and overlooked by the Knuckles mountain range. The course is an award winning Donald Steele designed golf course which caters for all levels of golfers. The golf course was voted ‘Best in Asia 2005’ by Asian Golf Monthly and ranked in top 100 ‘Most beautiful courses in the world’ by Golfers Digest.