Pro Sumith Nishantha's team wins 2nd round

By S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen, Kandy Sports Corr.

The 'deadlier of the species' the ladies made the difference at the second round of the Pro Team Challenge which was won by the Pro Sumith Nishantha's team at the monthly golf championship organised by the Victoria Golf and Country Resort and Played at the picturesque Victoria Golf Course at Rajawella.

This hotly contested but fun series of matches pits local Pro Sumith Nishantha's team against Britisher Mike Varney's Team in their monthly meeting.

The draw for the teams takes place the day before the Match (Ryder Cup) style, during the prize giving and the party after the model series.

It's a great way to get players together after the medal round and everyone loves the match because it is a blend of fun and competition the way golf was meant to be played, commented the Vice Captain of Sumith Nishantha's team Englishman Ian Tait who has been enjoying resounding success since of late.

After the draw, General Manager of Victoria Golf and Country Resort Mike Varney commented "Sujeewa Lankatillake and I are happy with the draw and we have got top flight players like Alain Gyi, Sam Gunaratne, and Sujeewa himself who is in sparkling form at present in our team.

This will be backed up with the talents of veteran Carl Kelaart and another Englishman Simon Northcott both Victoria Specialists and we have a good chance in levelling the series as round one was won by Pro Sumith Nishantha's team.

Excellent weather greeted the golfers on that Sunday morning and the course saw some magical golf from the first group with Mike Varney and Sujeewa Lankatillake playing against Pro Sumith Nishantha and Ian Tait. Playing with determination to get some points on the board to pave the way for others to follow Mike Varney and Sujeewa Lankatillake threw 4 birdies in the first 5 holes at their opponents to come out on top winning two up.

But the two ladies in Pro Sumith's Team had different ideas and displaying nerves of stool displayed guts to make the difference.

The two ladies drawn in Pro Sumith's team were Andrea Aida and Mark Green and they took the points from Simon Northcott and Carl Kelaart towards the finish. Sonia Boyle and Srimath Perera joined the fray and never allowed Alain Gyi and Sam Gunaratne to have their own way. Just the way Tiger Woods would have done, putting all the way round, they eventually saw them off 1 up.

It's clear the Ladies made all the difference in the Match, we thought the Team was in trouble after losing our match but the ladies served us in the end said the skipper Sumith Nishantha.

This hotly contested competition which saw some of the best golfers in action was played on a well laid course and the fairways were in trim condition thanks to the course manager Maheel Bulumulla and the organising arrangements were in the hands of Marketing Manager Lalindra Ranaweera, Caddie Master Peter Perera, Assistant Caddie Master K. Sivakumar under the overall guidance of General Manager Mike Varney and Assistant operations Manager Sandie Mcandrew.