Ranga in the lead

S M Jiffrey ABDEEN-Kandy sports correspondent

Sri Lankan golfer N Ranga was in the lead with 69 points at the end of the first round of the four round 124 Sri Lanka Amateur Golf Championship organized by the Sri Lanka golf union with the support of Victoria Golf and Country Resort and sponsored by E-Wis and Audi and worked off at the Victoria Golf Course at Rajawella off Kandy yesterday.

Around fifty golfers lead off yesterday.

Occupying the second place is Gagan Verma of India three shots behind with 72. Sri Lanka's N Thangaraja is lying third with 73 points. He is four points behind the leader and will have to make amends this morning if he is to take over the lead.

P Hemantha of Victoria Golf and Country Resort is lying ninth with 77 points. Four golfers are having the equal number of 77 points.

Vijith Bandara from Victoria Golf and Country Resort representing Sri Lanka on whom much was expected in lying thirteenth with 78 points. With three more rounds to go, there is ample time for him to make a recovery on a course which is very familiar to him.

B Vinoth Kumar of Nuwara Eliya Golf Club is lying seventh with 76 points.

Golfers from Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are participating in this championship which is the second oldest in the world.

The top positions at the end of the first round is:

N Ranga 69, Gagan Verma (India) 72, N Thangaraja (SL) 73, Sajith Ali (Bangladesh) 73, M Azman Basharuddin (Malaysia) 75, M Ali Hai (Pakistan) 75, B Vinoth Kumar (Nuwara Eliya GC) 76, Jeremiah Kim (Malaysia) 76, M Liton (Bangladesh) 77, M Arumugam (SL) 77, M Amarapathma 77, P Hemantha (Victoria GCR) 77, Vijitha Bandara (Victoria GCR) 78, Z M Dharmaratne 78, G Selvakumar (SL) 78, S Chikkakaranappa (India) 79, H Taimur Amin (Pakistan) 79.

The championship will be continued today at 7 am.