Zen turns pro after third-place finish
A third-place finish at Thursday's PGM Satellite Tournament at the
Kinrara Golf Club, Malaysia has prompted Zen Dharmaratne to turn
professional. He is probably the first Royal Colombo Golfe Club member
to play PGTM.
Zen Dharmaratne |
The 22-year-old is set to feature alongside those in the paid-ranks
of the PGM Tour’s next event – the PGM CCM Rahman Putra Masters at the
Kelab Rahman Putra in Selangor from Jan 30-Feb 2.
Zen was in his element yesterday, shooting a four-under 67 for a
six-over 219. Playing as an amateur, he shot identical 72s in his
earlier two rounds.
S. Tamilchelvan won the event after shooting a 70 for a three-day
total of 216. Muhammad Azry Ashraf Noor Azam, the overnight leader,
could only manage a 74 as he finished second on 218.
Zen, a one handicapper who first picked up a golf club at the age of
six, was pleased with his performance.
“Everything just came together today. I learned a lot after the first
two rounds. I kept the ball in play and holed a few good putts,” said
Zen, a final year IT student.
“Being in my final year has given me a lot more time to play golf. It
is really great and now I can turn pro and play the PGM Tour full-time,”
he added.
Final round scores
216: S. Tamilchelvan 70-76-70; 218: Muhammad Azry Ashraf Noor Azam
70-74-74; 219: Zen Dharmaratne (am) 76-76-67; 223: Tommy Chin 75-76-72,
Mohd Musa Fakir 73-74-76; 224: Hilmi Abdul Rahman 77-76-71, Idzwan
Marappan 77-72-75; 225: Rahizam Ramli 78-74-73, Gwee Li Jun (am)
73-77-75, Alan Chin 73-74-78; 226: Zaidi Majid (am) 74-77-75; 227: Zamri
Sariff 71-76-80; 228: V. Arumugam 78-76-74, Muhammad Rabbani (am)
77-75-76.
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