Golf Classic at Rajawella today

by S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy Sports Correspondent

The tenth annual SriLankan Airlines Golf Classics 2005 organised by the SriLankan Airlines and conducted by the Victoria Golf and Country Resort will be worked off at one of the most challenging golf courses - the Victoria Golf Course at Rajawella off Kandy from today till October 15 with the tee off at 7 a.m. each day.

Yesterday was the practice day and a very large number of golfers turned up and some of them have been here well ahead of the competition dates so that they could get themselves familiar with the course and also get acclimatised to the conditions prevailing here.

The defending champion Craig Haldain, a British national working in Bahrain as the Superintendent of the Riffa Golf Club is back in Sri Lanka to defend the prestigious title which he won last year. But it is not going to be easy for him as there are many single handicappers especially from Singapore, Dubai and Japan who will give him a good fight to wrest back the title, said the Marketing Manager of the Victoria Golf and Country Resort Lalindra Ranaweera.

The arrangements for this four-day competition is handled by the Director/General Manager of the Victoria Golf and Country Resort Tony Witham, Club Secretary Steffan do Run, Marketing Manager Lalindra Ranaweera, Manager Chalets Ms. Susie Dias, Caddio Master Peter Perera and his Assistant Siva, Finance Manager Paul Manickam and Course Manager Maheel Bulumulla.

Ranaweera said that 205 golfers from abroad and 51 locals will vie for the SriLankan Airlines Golf Classic 2005 championship which was one time known as the SriLankan Golf Festival and now has settled down at Victoria.

Steffan do Run said that the first set will play on 12th and 13th - two rounds on each day where the Nett and Gross scores will be taken into reckoning. The second set will play on 14th and 15th and it will be in the same format as in the first set. Apart from this there will also competitions for the longest drive, Senior Men's Division, Nearest to the Pin and Junior Division.