The second oldest Royal golf club outside Britain, the Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) is celebrating a historic landmark with the conducting of their 100th Club Championship that began on November 20 with the final to be played on November 28 at the Ridgeways course.
The club was formally inaugurated in 1879, with the sport at the time being played on the Galle Face Green in Colombo. Now in its 142nd year the RCGC is proud to celebrate their 100th Club Championship which was first played as far back as 1914.
Although they are in the 107th year since the club championship was inaugurated, it must be mentioned that this championship was not played for seven consecutive years from 1941 to 1947 due to the Second World War.
Luxury watch brand TAG Heuer has come forward to sponsor the club’s 100th Championship this year, an event that will see the participation of some of Sri Lanka’s best golfers.
This prestigious championship is open to all male members of the RCGC with valid handicaps who have an opportunity to win in different categories. A total of 130 men golfers have entered and the championship is open to members with a handicap of 12 or less.
There will be two rounds of stroke-play and the best 16 gross scores will qualify for the pre-quarter-finals to be played off scratch over 18 holes on November 25. The quarter-finals will be played the next day (26), the semi-finals on November 27 and the 36 holes final on November 28.
The RCGC Silver Championship is open to all members with a handicap of 13 to 18.
There will be two rounds of stroke-play and the player who returns with the lowest aggregate nett score will be the winner of the Silver Division.
The Bronze championship is for members with a handicap of 19 to 28 at the time of entry. There will be two rounds of stroke play and the player with the lowest aggregate nett score will be declared the winner.
The RCGC Masters Championship is for members with a valid handicap as at April 1, 2021 who have reached the age of 55 years on March 31, 2021.
They will play two rounds of stroke-play and the winner will be the player who returns with the lowest aggregate nett score.
The RGCG Seniors Championship is open to all members with a valid handicap and have reached the age of 65 years on March 31, 2021.
They will play two rounds of stroke-play and the winner will be the player with the lowest aggregate nett score.
There is also a championship for female golfers where 50 members have entered. Defending women’s champion Kayla Perera will come up with a strong challenge against up-and-coming golfers like young Kaya Daluwatte, veteran Anouk Chitty and Niloo Jayathillake.
The 100th Club championship is a remarkable milestone for the club. Golf over a centenary ago was a niche sport, but today is becoming a very inclusive sport with the sport’s etiquette, traditions and rules very much intact. It has gradually become a sport played at various social and economic levels in Sri Lanka and promises to produce some world class golfers in the near future.
“With over a century of golf at the RCGC, the championship has produced legends and noteworthy ambassadors for the game and it is with that spirit that we celebrate our 100th RCGC Club Championship” said Jehaan Ismail, Captain of RCGC.
In the men’s golf category, the late PIN Fernando has won this championship for a record 19 times, while current playing member Rusi Captain comes a close second with 14 wins, perhaps the closest in contention to break this record.
In the women’s category current Lady Captain, Anouk Chitty has won it for a record eight times.