Prabagaran is All India Amateur Golf Champion

Richard Dwight

GOLF: The former Nuwara Eliya and Sri Lankan Amateur Golf champion, Kandasamy Prabagaran, did him and the country proud, when he performed exceptionally well to exceed beyond himself, to win the 106th All India Amateur Golf Championship held last week at the par 17 Coimbatore Gold Club.

To come right on top of this prestigious, challenging event, is by no means a small achievement. For in so doing, to become India’s Amateur Golf champion, he becomes the fourth Sri Lankan to win this coveted title, the other Sri Lankan winners were, Pin Fernando, Nandasena Perera and Lalith Kumara.

It’s learnt that Prabagaran, having been seeded 11th after the stroke play qualifying round, played excellent golf throughout the match play session of the event and in reading the final, had many tough matches against more fancied and experienced opponents from, not just India, but the very talented South African, Ruan Botha, ranked within the first 50 of the World Amateur rankings.

In the 36 hole final played last Sunday, he was up against the seasoned campaigner, Simar Jeet Singh, who himself had won the Sri Lanka amateur title on three consecutive occasions in early 2000, but had never reached the final of the All India previously. In a closely contested match of see sawing fortunes, Prabagaran prevailed at the 35th when he went two up after both players missed the fairway and only made bogey.

Prabagaran made 9 birdies in the match and it was his putting which proved decisive in the final analysis.

Prabagaran who hails from Nuwara Eliya learnt his golf at the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club. He has been a regular member of the Sri Lanka golf team in recent years touring India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Singapore - He did as well to represent Sri lanka at the Asian Games held in Doha last December. His previous victory in an international event was when he won the Sri Lanka Amateur golf title in 2003.