Praba fires a 64 on the opening day

Tuesday, 21 January 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The UTE-Cat Sri Lanka open golf championship got off to a sensational start with the NEGC pro K. Prabagaran shooting a bogey-free 7 under par round of 64 to establish a five stroke lead ahead of Asian tour pro Mithun Perera. Prabagaran fired five Birdies and an Eagle on the 7th hole without dropping a shot on any of the other holes. Mithun Perera scored a 2 under par 69 joined by M. Arumugam to share joined second place five strokes behind the opening day leader Prabagaran. The defending champion and seven times winner Anura Rohana had an even par 71 having landed in Sri Lanka last night returning from an Asian Tour participation in Malaysia. The Eagles golf link professional J.J. Kumar and the young rising super star Zaffar Sikkander were tied for fourth place on 71 seven strokes behind the leader.

The other pro on the PGTI, Thangaraja, shared seventh place with the former winner Amarapathma and young hopeful Chanaka Perera, Calibria, Sureshan and Rohan Ajith on 72, one stroke further away. R. Pathmanadan of VGC, Lalith Kumara (RCGC), Tissa Chandradasa (Indian Tour), Zen Dharmaratne (Malaysian Tour) and Jehan de Saram (RCGC Pro) completed the professional representation in the field with above par scores. However all the professionals are sure to make an impact in the next few rounds chasing the leader from Nuwara Eliya Prabagaran at 7 under par. The principal and title sponsor UTE-Cat represented by the Chairman Priath Fernando were delighted by the enthusiastic response with 68 players facing the starter. There were 66 players who participated in the pre-qualifying round on Friday who earned 23 places to complete the Sri Lanka Open Golf Championship 2013 starter list. A. Jegan was the best qualifier with five over par 76. The Sri Lanka Open Golf Championship co-sponsored by CML-MTD Construction and organised by the Sri Lanka Golf Union. The Second days play gets underway at the Ridgeways with the chasing pack of Mithun, Arumugam, Anura Rohana, Kumar, Zaffar followed by the professional pack of Thangarajah, Pathmanadan, Lalith Kumara, Tissa Chandradasa, Zen Dharmaratne and Jehan de Saram. The other junior star Sachin de Silva scored a two over par 73 to share twelfth place behind the leader but only 2 strokes behind the other junior Zaffar Sikkander. The UTE-Cat Challenge Trophy for amateur golfers once again sees a tussle amongst the juniors with Zaffar at 71 followed closely by Sachin at 73 and Prashan Pieris on 78.