The second oldest Amateur Golf Championship in the world, after the British Amateur Golf Championship, first played in 1891 “ The Amateur Golf Championship of Ceylon” as it was then known, was originally played twice a year until 1904 – once each in Colombo and Nuwara Eliya. The Championship was interrupted by the Great War from 1915 to 1919, restarted again in 1920 and disrupted again by the Second World War from 1940 – 1945 and was resumed in 1946 since when it has had an unbroken run. The unique feature of the Championship being in its’ original Match-Play format, similar to the British Amateur and the ‘Ryder Cup’ the ultimate international world Match-play challenge.

The Championship was originally conducted by the host Club but in 1921 a Championship Central Committee was formed to run the Championship. However, since the formation of the ‘Ceylon Golf Union’ (CGU) in 1946, it has been run by the Golf Union, an affiliation of all Golf Clubs in the island, which is the controlling body for golf in this country. Subsequent to Ceylon becoming a Republic, the CGU was renamed Sri Lanka Golf Union (SLGU) and has continuously worked closely with the world controlling bodies of Golf –the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (R & A) and the United States Golf Association (USGA).

The first- ever Amateur Golf Championship of Ceylon was played in Nuwara Eliya in March 1891, and J. W. Govan on the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (NEGC) was the First Champion. The second Championship conducted by the Colombo Golf Club at Galle Face Green in October 1891 was won by J N Campbell, a leading light in the planting world, also from Nuwara Eliya, took his revenge defeating J. W. Govan, to whom he lost in the inaugural Championship. Govan also won the 3rd & 4th Championships played in April 1892 and October 1892, played alternatively in Nuwara Eliya and Galle Face Green in Colombo. The Championship participation was dominated by British, Scottish and Irish imperials, as part of the British colonization process. It was in 1912 that three De Saram brothers, Beauchamp, Fred and E.R became the first Ceylonese to play in the Championship. Then, it was only from 1920 – 1939 that Ceylonese made a greater impact in the Championship, when Timothy De Silva became the 1st Ceylonese to win the Championship in 1923. Bertie E Weerasinghe won in 1929 to record the 2nd Ceylonese to win the Ceylon Amateur. After the 2nd World War the period, 1946 – 1963, the legendary Pin Fernando made his mark among the British majority Amateur golfers winning the Championship on nine occasions, with C. Upali Senanayake the only other Ceylonese to win in 1963.

1964 was a watershed year for the Amateur Golf Championship of Ceylon, with most of the British Golfers having left Ceylon, in that official National Teams from India and Pakistan competed in the event for the first time and have continued to do so, with additional National Teams from Bangladesh, Thailand too participating annually.

After the legendary Pin Fernando won the Amateur Golf Championship of Ceylon a record 11 times, the unique K. Nandasena Perera burst on the scene in 1983 and captured the re-named Sri Lanka Amateur Golf Championship consecutively for three years in 1988, 1989 & 1990, the All-India Amateur Golf Championship twice and of course the Silver Medal at the Beiijing Asian games in 1990. Many Sri Lankans have won the Sri Lanka Amateur since but in the recent past, N. Thangaraja is the last Sri Lankan to have won the title since 2013. G.P. Sisira Kumara came the closest to winning being the Runner-up twice over in the last two Championships played in Victoria Golf & Country Resort (2016) & Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (2017).

The 2018, 131st Sri Lanka Amateur Golf Championship will be played at the Royal Colombo Golf Club, with courtesy and Sponsorship of ‘Continental Tyres’ – Douglas & Sons Ltd, a renowned Automobile Parts Supplier and Sole Agent for Continental Tyres in Sri Lanka.

The Championship gets underway from 20th – 24th January 2019, at the Royal Colombo Golf Club Course, and international participation from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand is expected.

The Sri Lanka Ladies Amateur Open Golf Championship 2018, will also be played concurrently, Sponsored by Continental Tyres – the European Market Leader with 13 Plants in 12 Countries and a worldwide market share of 28.5%, represented by DSL as the Sole Agent, Distributer in Sri Lanka.

The astounding journey of the Second oldest Amateur Golf Championship in the world continues and Sri Lanka can be proud of the golf heritage very few other countries have, and the vital responsibility to carry-on the legacy is well shouldered by the SLGU but event sponsorship from established Sri Lankan Corporate Companies seems a necessity.

ENDS