The Burdett Trophy between Royal Colombo Golf Club (the oldest golf club in Sri Lanka) and the
Nuwara Eliya Golf Club (oldest golf course in Sri Lanka) was inaugurated in 1902. It is recorded as the oldest team Golf event in history and is 25 years ahead of the prestigious Ryder Cup between USA and Europe.
The 115 th edition of this annual tournament was played recently at the Royal Colombo Golf Club. The NuwaraEliya Golf Club team went in determined to wrest control of the trophy with a star-studded line up of players and were up against an equally strong team from RCGC.
The foursome matches in the morning gave RCGC a morale boosting 3 matches to 1 lead and the stage was set for NEGC to show their mettle in the singles matches that followed in the afternoon. The two old campaigners, Major General Srinath Rajapakse and Harsha Abeywickrama overcame stiff opposition to win their matches on the 18 th hole with Srinath sinking a crucial birdie putt and Harsha coming back strong after being 4 down on the 10 th against the young Ronan Hall.
In the final match, the ever reliable Sachin De Silva played steady golf to win his match against the Vice Captain of RCGC,Avanka Herath and ensure a tie for the Burdett Trophy. This was in fact the 3 rd occasion where the Burdett Trophy has been shared by these two clubs in the past 115 years.
The ladies competed for the 31 st Puffin Cup and RCGC emerged clear winners with a 4 ½ to 3 ½ win with leading lady golfers Anouk Chitty and Louise Parson winning their singles for RCGC Niloo Jayatileke playing off a 8 handicap displayed brilliant golf for NEGC winning her match having conceded 21 strokes to her opponent.
The 125 th Anniversary tournament which showcases the next best set of golfers from both clubs saw NEGC win by a convincing 8 ½ to 6 ½ matches. RCGC ensured a whitewash of the masters Trophy with a 4-0 win and the tournament concluded with the traditional prize giving and dinner hosted by RCGC.
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