from left  “ Mr. Ranil Peiris – Captain RCGC & council member SLGU, Ms Niloo Jayatilake – Chairman junior subcommittee &council member SLGU, Mr. Tan Beng Chuan ,  Group General Manager , Prima Group Sri Lanka , Mr. Shun Tien Shing– General Manager of Ceylon Agro Industries, Prima Group Sri Lanka and Mr. Sajith Gunaratne– Senior Business Manager & Senior Marketing Manager of Ceylon Agro Industries ,Prima Group Sri Lanka

This year’s Sri Lanka Junior Open Golf Championship, sponsored by Prima Sunrise Bread for the eighth consecutive year, will be held from 15th to 17th December at the Royal Colombo Golf Club, morning play. It is the most prestigious tournament for young golfers in Sri Lanka and we expect participation from Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Colombo thanks to the popularity of the sport growing at regional levels in Sri Lanka. This has culminated from the successful junior development programs being conducted by the local golf clubs with the support of the Sri Lanka Golf Union. Also the holding of Regional Junior opens this year in Nuwara Eliya and Kandy,which was also sponsored by Prima Sunrise Bread has been instrumental in developing the talent locally. We believe that future national representation would come from the young talent that is being developed and more tournament opportunities would create the platform for the junior’s to shine. We expect over 70 junior golfers to participate in the upcoming tournament. It is a tournament that is open to both boys and girls under the age of 18 years and is the most sought after tournament in the golfing calendar. It is conducted by the Sri Lanka Golf Union and the principle sponsor Prima Sunrise Bread. 

Past champions of this tournament who have gone on to be professionals are, Nandesena Perera, Mithun Perera, Lalith Kumara and Anura Rohana. Also golfers such as Binupa Wijesinghe, Alain Gyi, RanilPeiris,Rusi Captain have all gone on to become Sri Lanka’s top amateur golfers to name a few. Last year’s winner was 18 years old Lamindu Rainika who unfortunately will not be playing this year since attaining age. However we are likely to see stiff competition in the open category for the national junior title from Armand Flamer Caldera, S. Flamin, Buddika Jayalath, T. Akash, S. Kailas and Prashan Pieris.

This event will be conducted according to four age group categories and the championship is open to players from any age group category but playing 18 holes over the three days off championship tees. The age group categories are as follows; 15-17 years (Gold Division), 12-14 years (Silver Division), 10 -11 years (Bronze Division) and 9 years and under (Copper Division). The overall winner will be declared the Sri Lanka Junior National Golf Champion for the year 2015.Prima Sunrise is the main sponsor of this tournament and will provide nutrition for all players during the tournament. The brand has been committed to building a long term relationship with the SLGU and been a key driver in promoting the sport among youth and uplifting the standard of junior golf in Sri Lanka. Also the sponsorship commitment extends to the Regional Junior Opens to be scheduled in year 2016. 

The sponsorship cheque was given by Mr. Shun Tien Shing– General Manager of Ceylon Agro Industries, Prima Group Sri Lanka and Mr. Sajith Gunaratne– Senior Business Manager & Senior Marketing Manager of Ceylon Agro Industries Prima Group Sri Lanka the promoters of Prima Sunrise Bread. The Captain of the union Mr. Ranil Peiris represented the Sri Lanka Golf Union along with Mrs Niloo Jayatilake –council member and chairperson of the junior development subcommittee. 

This year’s tournament is likely to see the talents of Tania Balasuriya, Sathsara Dilshan,Kayla Perera, Hiruna Siegera, Levon Niyarepola, Vinod Weerasinghe, S. Flamin, S Praveenraj, Nirekh Tejwani, Yannik Kumara, Mahisha Hirushan and Vikash Tangadore battling for the top spots in their respective age group categories.