COLOMBO, Mar 27, 11.30PM – Sri Lanka Navy’s Chalitha Pushpika exhibited a remarkable performance on the penultimate day of the National Ranking Tournament (NRT) held at the Royal Colombo Golf Club, maintaining his stronghold on the leaderboard with an impressive one-under-par round of 70.
Pushpika’s stellar round of 70, the best performance of the day, solidified his position at the top with an unassailable total of 215. Holding onto the lead for the third consecutive day, Pushpika’s consistent play has set him nine shots ahead of his closest competitor, Reshan Algama, the country’s top-ranked World Amateur Golf player.
Algama, securing the second spot, displayed a commendable performance with a third-round gross of 76, bringing his total to 224, just one shot ahead of teaching professional Priya Hemantha, who delivered a fine round of 73 for a total of 225.
Uchitha Ranasinghe emerged as another standout performer on the penultimate day, delivering a fantastic even-par round of 71, placing him fourth in the 21-member leaderboard with a total score of 227. Young golfer Adithya Weerasinghe of the Anuradhapura Golf Academy showcased his talent with a gross score of 75, trailing behind Yannik Kumara, who sits in fifth place with a total score of 228 after a third-round gross of 73.
However, last month’s NRT champion, Chanaka Perera, faced a setback due to an injury to one of his fingers, relegating him to the bottom of the leaderboard. Perera missed on Wednesday’s round and will also skip Thursday’s proceedings.
The final day’s action is set to commence at 10 AM, with the awards ceremony scheduled for 2 PM at the RCGC. As the tournament reaches its climax, all eyes are on Pushpika as he aims to maintain his lead and claim victory in the prestigious NRT event.