Mackwoods Trophy golf :

Suwen leads first round

S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy Sports Correspondent

Versatile golfer Suwen Selvaratnam led the race at the end of round one in the annual Mackwoods Ladies Stroke Play Golf Championship organised by the Sri Lanka Golf Union and supported by Victoria Golf and Country Resort played at the beautiful Victoria Golf Course at Rajawella off Digana. The championship will be continued today at 7.30 a.m.

Suwen Selvaratnam was on top at the end of the first round with 84. Three strokes behind was the defending champion Niloo Jayatilleke with 87 gross. In third place was former winner and Victoria’s caddie Rasika Ekanayake 88 gross.

In fourth place was Kishani Vethavinayakam with 90 gross. She tied for this position with Manori Jayakoddy who also came with 90 gross. But a count back on the last nine holes Kishani edged out her seasoned opponent Manori 9:43 to 9:46.

Also registering good scores were S. Sandhya 93, Jane Mynogock 97, Sumithra Ukkwatte 98.

With just one round completed over 18 holes, the championship is still wide with two more rounds completed. It is going to be a big tussle between two of this country’s leading golfers in Suwen Selvaratnam and Niloo Jayatilleke with Rasika Ekanayake too having a good chance to have a crack at the Mackwoods Trophy in the manner she did four years ago.