Ranjith Jayawardena heads to Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup Grand Final

From left: Amrith De Soysa, Shayanika Fernando, Ruani Desinghe, Ranjith Jayawardena, Druvi Sirisena, Turkish Airlines on-board chef

From left, front row: Accountant Turkish Airlines Colombo Nishadhi Kulatilleke, Reservations Executive Turkish Airlines Colombo Ramila Silva, General Manager Turkish Airlines Colombo Ozgur Suucak, Sales and Marketing Manager Turkish Airlines Colombo Shermika Kuweju, Flying Chief Turkish Airlines Tugce Hekmhan. Back row: Cargo Manager Turkish Airlines Colombo Hilshan Rodrigo, Craig Bolton, Simon Wakefield, Reservations Executive Turkish Airlines Colombo Pathum Jayawardana

By Madushka Balasuriya

Ranjith Jayawardena won the opportunity of a lifetime this past weekend, when he prevailed over 100 of Sri Lanka’s finest amateur golfers to win the Sri Lankan leg of the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup Amateur Series, which was held on Sunday 4 September at the Royal Colombo Golf Club.

The tournament, which is the 78th of 100 qualifiers for the 2016 Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup, golf’s largest amateur tournament, was played in a stableford format and saw Jayawardena finish with 41 points, 1 point ahead of his nearest competitors Ruani Desinghe (40 points) and Druvi Sirisena (40 points). Jayawardena told Daily FT he had a feeling it was going to be his day after sinking a 20ft birdie on the opening hole.

“I had a great feeling once I stepped on to the course. I started off with a birdie, which gave me a lot of confidence. My driving was good, my iron shots were good, my short game was good; I really knew it was my day. My focus was unwavering today, I could see my putting line like a highway. Everything was going in really – except for the fifth hole where I scratched after hitting into the bunker.”

Asked if he was aware that he was closing in on victory towards the end of his round, Jayawardena explained that due to the handicap rule being in effect it was difficult to gauge if he was ahead or not.

“There is a situation where somebody can have a ten stroke advantage over me. So I knew there was always a chance that even with how good my round was there could be someone who had done better because of their handicap.” 

Amrith De Soysa, who is the only amateur golfer in RCGC history to have a negative handicap score (-2), won the overall Gross prize with 34 points. De Soysa also took home the nearest to the pin award in the men’s category, while in the women’s category Shayanika Fernando took home the prize.

Jayawardena, meanwhile, will now have a little under two months to prepare for the the Grand Final in Antalya, Turkey. Once there, accommodation will be provided on an all-inclusive basis at the 5-star Titanic Deluxe Belek resort in Antalya, which is billed as ‘one of the most spectacular properties on the Turkish Riviera’. The Grand Final will take place at the luxurious Titanic Golf Club over two days starting 31 October, with the top 10 finishers of the 36-hole event winning an opportunity to play in the 2016 Turkish Airlines Open pro-am.

But losing finalists won’t go home empty handed, with all 100 Grand Finalists being gifted season tickets to attend the Turkish Airlines Open at the Carya Golf Club in Belek from 3-6 November, where they will be entertained in VIP hospitality and watch some of golfs top pros compete in one of the European Tour’s most lucrative events.

“We would like to congratulate everyone who took part in the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup qualifier at Colombo,” said General Manager for Turkish Airlines Colombo Özgür Suuçak. “It was a brilliant day and well done to our winner, Ranjith Jayawardena – we look forward to seeing you in Antalya in November.”

The first qualifiers took place in Dar es Salaam, Mumbai and Doha in February and the 2016 series takes place across the globe, in destinations including Hong Kong, Great Britain, South Korea, Japan, China, Spain, the United States, Portugal, Italy, France, Greece, Argentina, Brazil and Turkey.

Turkish Airlines, which was recently voted Best Airline in Europe for the fifth consecutive year, as well as World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge and World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining in 2015, launched the World Golf Cup in 2013. It featured 12 qualifying events and was won by China’s Han Liang. His prize for victory was partnering world number one and 14-time major champion Tiger Woods in the Turkish Airlines Open pro-am. 

2015 winner Neill Bam from Johannesburg proved successful in the 2015 series and went on to partner Rory McIlroy, a once in a lifetime opportunity. After that initial success, there was a rapid expansion to include 70 events worldwide last year. 

Pix courtesy Turkish Ailrines