The Ceylon Golf League is set to return for its second season from January 8 to 10, 2027, with more than 150 players preparing to compete across eight city based franchises at the Royal Colombo Golf Club.
Sri Lanka’s first franchise-based golf league will return to the fairways after a successful inaugural campaign that introduced a new team oriented approach to the local game, combining competitive golf with franchise identities, a player auction and city based rivalries.
The second edition will once again be staged at the historic Royal Colombo Golf Club, with defending champions Nuwara Eliya Panthers aiming to retain their crown and last season’s runners up Trinco Sharks among the leading challengers.
Interest in the league has grown considerably ahead of the new season.
More than 150 players have registered for the 2027 competition, compared with around 130 who participated in the inaugural edition. Organisers said the first season also attracted more than 2,600 attendees across the tournament, providing an encouraging foundation for the competition’s continued expansion.
Season Two was officially announced during a press conference at Cinnamon Grand in Colombo, where Nations Trust Bank was also confirmed as the league’s new title partner.
The partnership represents another significant step for the Ceylon Golf League as organisers attempt to establish the tournament as a permanent fixture on Sri Lanka’s sporting calendar.
CGL co-founder Shamal Perera said the response to the inaugural competition demonstrated a strong appetite for franchise golf in the country.
The first season provided players with a different competitive environment from traditional individual tournaments, introducing team loyalties and city rivalries while also allowing golfers of different backgrounds and handicap categories to compete within the same franchise structure.
Perera, together with fellow co-founders Mahela Jayawardena and Suhayb Sangani, is now looking to build on that momentum with a larger player pool and another competitive three day tournament.
The build-up to Season Two also included another important player auction.
Thirty-five players had been released across the eight franchises ahead of the October 23 auction at The Atrium, Cinnamon Grand, providing teams with an opportunity to restructure their squads and strengthen weaker areas before January.
The franchise auction has quickly become one of the distinctive elements of the competition.
Rather than golfers simply entering as individuals, teams must consider how different players fit together across multiple formats and handicap categories.
That creates an additional tactical dimension, with franchise owners and team officials needing to balance experience, consistency and potential when constructing their squads.
The 2027 tournament will retain the three day format that helped define the inaugural season.
Competition begins on January 8 with Foursomes, where two-player teams alternate shots using the same ball.
The second day will feature Fourball, allowing each golfer to play their own ball with the better score from each pairing counting towards the team.
The final day on January 10 will feature the Indies competition in a one versus three format, setting up the decisive battles for the championship.
Seven handicap categories will once again be used across male and female divisions.
That structure is central to the Ceylon Golf League concept because it allows players of varying competitive levels to contribute to their franchises rather than restricting the event exclusively to elite golfers.
The league therefore combines competitive performance with a broader participation model intended to increase interest in golf among players and spectators.
The defending Nuwara Eliya Panthers will enter January carrying the pressure that comes with being champions.
Their victory in the inaugural competition established them as the early benchmark of the league, but repeating that success could prove difficult as rival franchises use the auction to strengthen their squads.
Trinco Sharks will have particular motivation after finishing runners up, while the other six teams will be looking to disrupt the leading pair and establish new rivalries during Season Two.
The growth of the commercial partnership programme also suggests confidence in the league’s potential.
Alongside Nations Trust Bank as title partner, Mastercard has joined as event partner, M Power as official financial partner and KIA as official automobile partner.
ThePapare will serve as official broadcast partner, while Hutch and E FM have joined as telecommunications and radio partners respectively. Cinnamon Grand is the hospitality partner, with Alankara Jewellery also joining the commercial line up.
For Sri Lankan golf, the league offers a different way of presenting a sport that has traditionally centred on individual competition.
Franchise sport has become increasingly familiar to Sri Lankan audiences through cricket and other disciplines, but applying the same concept to golf creates new opportunities for supporters to identify with teams and follow players across an entire competition.
The introduction of city based franchises also provides an opportunity to build recognizable identities beyond the golf course.
Teams such as the Nuwara Eliya Panthers, Trinco Sharks, Colombo Aces and Kandy Kings give supporters a regional connection, while the auction format creates additional interest before competition even begins.
The league could also provide a valuable platform for emerging golfers.
Playing alongside more experienced competitors in a team environment can expose younger players to greater competitive pressure while also giving them opportunities to learn from established names.
Organisers have emphasised that developing the local golf ecosystem remains an important part of the project as the competition grows.
The Royal Colombo Golf Club will once again provide the setting for that development.
One of the oldest golf clubs in the region, RCGC offers a challenging course and an established golfing environment, making it a natural home for a competition seeking to combine tradition with a more modern franchise structure.
Season Two will also provide an important indication of whether the momentum generated during the league’s debut can be sustained.
Increasing registrations from 130 to more than 150 players is an encouraging sign, while expanded sponsorship and commercial support suggest the concept has gained traction beyond the first tournament.
The next challenge will be translating that growth into stronger competition, larger audiences and continued interest in the franchises.
For the players, however, the objective will remain much simpler.
Three days of golf will determine whether the Nuwara Eliya Panthers can successfully defend their title or whether a new champion emerges from a strengthened field.
With more than 150 players, eight franchises and three contrasting formats packed into one competitive weekend, the Ceylon Golf League’s January return promises to build on its successful debut and bring another chapter of franchise rivalry to Sri Lankan golf.
