111th Shakspeare Golf Tournament tees off today
View(s):One of the most unique events in Sri Lanka’s golfing calendar which brings together two institutions with over two centuries of collective history – the Shakspeare Golf Tournament – will tee off at the Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) today. The tournament is sponsored by the 109-year-old Carson Cumberbatch Group and conducted by the 143-year-old RCGC, both entities that embrace rich history, tradition and legacy.
Now playing in its 111th year, the Shakspeare Golf Tournament is Sri Lanka’s pioneering corporate golf tournament open to two-member teams from companies, diplomatic institutions, government agencies and the Sri Lankan police and armed forces. Scored using the Stableford system for the highest score which involves scoring based on the number of strokes at each hole, the Shakspeare Shield is on record as the oldest competition on the board of RCGC competitions.
The tournament is named after a former Chairman of Carson Cumberbatch PLC, W. Shakspeare who was elected to the RCGC Committee in 1908. He initiated the Foursomes Competition in 1911, which to-date, has remained an annual fixture etched in the RCGC calendar. Carson Cumberbatch has since then exclusively sponsored this tournament.
Amid numerous challenges last year due to the pandemic, the tournament had 23 teams vying for the prestigious Shakspeare Shield, which was won by Eric Ou and Yue Yeqing of Port City, narrowly edging out Kushal and Kamlesh Johnpillai of KayJay Group and Liu Qiyuan and Zhao Liang of Hunan Construction Company emerging as second runners-up.