Chanaka secures SLG National Ranking Title

GOLF

By Shamseer Jaleel

Chanaka Perera of the Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) continued his form in tandem to secure the first Sri Lanka Golf (SLG) National Ranking Championships 2024, in a thrilling culmination for this four-day event, which concluded at the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club yesterday.

Chanaka emerged as the frontrunner, showcasing consistent golf throughout the tournament to secure the coveted top spot with a total score of 302. 
He led from day-one onwards and displayed some class golf to win the title. Hot on his heels was Chalitha Pushpika (Navy), trailing by a mere shot with a score of 306. Holding steady in third place was Uchitha Ranasinghe (RCGC), maintaining a commendable performance with a score of 315.

What adds to the excitement of this championship is the international recognition of these players as all three leading contenders - Chanaka, Chalitha and Uchitha boast impressive World Amateur Rankings. 

Chanaka stands at 1,009, Chalitha at 1,096, and Uchitha at 1,046, showing their class among the other golfers on the global golfing stage.

Meanwhile, the Girls’ event was won by R. M. A. C. Rathnayaka (408) followed by K. U. D. N. Uluwatta (411) and K. W. D. S. Wijegunarathna (437).

This is only the start, as more ranking golf tournaments are on the card and many juniors, such as Jevahn Sathasivam, Reshan Algama, Kaya Daluwatte and Yannik Kumara who missed out due to their studies, will be playing in the next few events, which will help them secure a better standing among the other golfers.