Defending champion Romesh faces stiff competition

S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy Sports correspondent at Victoria

GOLF:The picturesque Victoria Golf Course at Rajawella off Kandy will be a hive of activity this weekend when the annual Donald Steel Trophy 2007 organised by the Victoria Golf and Country Resort will be played on February 10th and 11th.

Victoria golf course which has been voted as the best golf course in South Asia has been staging this prestigious championship since 1998 and the tournament will be played over 36 holes as a stableford event with full handicap allowance for all players.

The tournament features prizes for both ladies and gentleman alike. The Donald Steel Trophy and the Ebert Pot are the gentleman’s events while the Ladies compete for the Pam Fernando Cup and the Victoria Bowl.

Romesh Abhayaratne (the son of the famous Yvonne Abhayaratne) is the defending champion of the Donald Steel Trophy and should receive some stiff competition this year, with a large number of local and international golfers of repute lined up to battle for honours.

The defending champion for the Ebert Pot is Ian Nalder - an ardent fan of golf in Sri Lanka and an annual visitor to the island. He is back this year to defend his title and he is determined to retain it for another year to ensure that his trip to the island is not in vain.

The mother daughter combination of Suwanosha Selvaratnam and Thuhashini Selvaratnam, swept the board last year with a stupendous performance and they are determined to make the ladies titles a family affair once again.

In the year 2006 Thuhashini Selvaratnam who is the Arizone Golf Champion came all the way from the United States and claimed the prestigious Pam Fernando Cup by returning the Best Aggregate Gross Score whilst her mother Suwen Selvaratnam pocketed the Victoria Bowl for the Best Net Aggregate Stableford score to make the Ladies Division a family affair.

The peituresque Victoria Golf Course was designed by Donald Steel the world renowned golf architect from the United Kingdom which incorporates the undulating terrain of Victoria. Donald Steel is one of the finest golf architects and fellow and former Chairman and President of the British Institute of Golf Course Architects with a career in golf course architecture spanning for over 30 years. In fact the Donald Steel Trophy was the first golf competition which got Victoria off the launching pad in 1998. Since then it has been played as an annual event with the championship itself gaining momentum every year. Donald Steel in his own words has commented “Some golf courses have a splendid Undulating terrain over which the holes are routed. Some golf courses have a scenic back drop of hills and lakes which excite the senses. However the Victoria Golf Course near Kandy is blessed with both attributes.

The Victoria greens have been built to USGA specifications are of the highest quality. Beautifully shaped bunkers add to the challenge of Victoria. Stately trees and avenues of coconut lend the course an immediate air of maturity. Impressive natural outcrops of rock are a distinctive feature and indeed a hazard of the course. With a setting such as this, Victoria without any doubt has been rated amongst the 100 most beautiful golf courses in the world by the prestigious Golf Digest.

“We are confident that the Donald Steel Trophy 2007 will be a success with the entries pouring from both Sri Lanka and abroad” commented the British Golf Professional and General Manager of Victoria Golf and Country Resort Mile Varney, a practical official who has put in much pains and hard work to improve the standard of the course.