President, NEGC Sudath Kumara (left) and Amrith de Zoysa, President, RCGC

By Shamseer Jaleel

The 121st annual Burdett Trophy golf encounter between the Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) and the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (NEGC) will tee off on July 6 at NEGC Course in Nuwara Eliya.

The day before the main event a junior event will take place for the very first time while the Ladies’ of the two esteemed clubs will play for the 87th Puffin Cup on July 6.

The Burdett Trophy for Men’s and the 87th Puffin Cup for Ladies’ will be played on the same day. 

The Burdett Trophy for Men’s has been played throughout the last 120 years except during the two World Wars (1914 to 1918 and from 1939 to 1945).

The Burdett Trophy was inaugurated in 1902 between Sri Lanka’s two prestigious golf clubs, RCGC and NEGC, 25 years before the commencement of the world’s second oldest team golf event, the Ryder Cup which started in 1927 between the United States and Europe. 

The Burdett Trophy was presented by the then Assistant Deputy Commissioner to the Governor, Sir Francis Burdett. The NEGC won the inaugural Burdett Trophy. 

The Burdett Trophy is the second oldest golf event between two teams, only to stand second to Ryder Cup.

Meanwhile, the Puffin Cup was introduced in 1936 beside the main tournament, opening doors to Lady Golfers of the two clubs to compete. 

C. M. Puffin Lushington presented the Cup and the championship has become a leading Ladies’ golf team event over the years.    Being an event of rich tradition, the Burdett Trophy Teams will be announced during the evening function day before the tournament day (July 5) and the draw will be held on the following morning at the first tee by the two team captains as they exchange the team cards.

The NEGC Team will be led by veteran golfer Kushal Johnpillai while Amrith De Zoysa will lead the RCGC. The Burdett Teams comprise 12 players each who will play four matches and eight singles.

The Puffin Cup for Ladies’ began in 1936. The Puffin Cup is played as four foursome matches and four singles matches. Alongside these two tournaments, will be the Masters Golf Tournament and the 125th Anniversary competitions. In total 124 golfers will tee off for their respective teams. The principal sponsor of the major tournament is SLT Mobitel.