Spectacular response to inaugural Emirates Colombo Classic

Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) Captain Tissa Jayasinghe claimed a single point victory over A Division runner-up Sheron Fernando to win his group at the inaugural Emirates Colombo Classic golf tournament on February 28.

A total of 236 golfers in five divisions feed off in Stableford format in a spectacular response to this exciting new tournament brought to Sri Lanka by the award-winning Dubai-based airline.

The keenly contested event saw the A Division (handicaps of 0 to 9) being won by Tissa Jayasinghe (39 points), Sheron Fernando (38) and Zhuang Lizhou (36); the B Division (handicaps of 10-18) by Suresh Subramaniam (37), Glen Mathew (36) and Nimal Perera (36); C Division (handicaps of 19-28) byu Sampath De Zoysa (41), Madura Amarasinghe (41) and Ananda Manawadu (40) and Ladies (handicaps of 0-28) by Manori Jayakody (39), Usha De Silva (38) and Rohsini Sangani (36).

Seniors Division

The Seniors Division (handicaps of 0-28) was won by Tony Witham (39) and Ken Sellayah (38).

"We were overwhelmed by the response to this inaugural event and very impressed by the passion and commitment of the amateur golfers who competed," said Chandana de Silva, Emirates' Area Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives.

"This tournament was conceptualised to reward our frequent flyers and Skywards members and to create yet another opportunity for Emirates to interact socially with this important segment of customers. We are pleased that it was an unqualified success."

Devika Ellepola, Emirates Sales Manager Sir Lanka said: "In Sri Lanka, many of our frequent flyers, corporate customers and members of Skywards either play golf, or are golf enthusiasts.

We were therefore delighted to introduce a tournament similar to the Dubai Desert Classic to Sri Lanka for the benefit of local golfers and enthusiasts."

Emirates presented 14 handsome trophies to the winners and two runners-up in each of the Groups A, B, C and Ladies, and awarded two trophies to the winner and runner-up in the Seniors category.

Additionally, every participating golfer received a branded T shirt and cap, while Skywards members who competed received quality Emirates golf bags.

Emirates, is also the Official Airline of the Dubai Desert Classic, and has a great affinity with golf.

Busy Year

The airline has a busy year of golf sponsorship ahead, with a portfolio that includes the BMW international Open, BMW, Asian Open, Malaysian Open, Africa Open, The Hong Kong Open, The Austrian Open, Volvo Asian Masters, Hero Honda Open, HSBC Champions, Australian PGA Championship and the Dubai Ladies Masters.