Iqbal, Javed victories in J.A.Zaman Golf Opener
Muhammad Iqbal secured first spot in senior pro section while Javed Khan emerged as top senior amateur in J.A.Zaman Open Golf at the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course.
The first round of J.A.Zaman Memorial Open Golf Championship backed by the Zaman Family. The head of the Family, Hamid Zaman inaugurated the ceremony by hitting the first shot at the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course.
From the competitive angle this first round was earmarked for the senior professionals, junior professionals, senior amateurs and veterans and as for the Professionals and Amateurs, they will be competing over the next three days from 9th March to 11th March.
Muhammed Iqbal of Gymkhana played outstanding golf and ended up as the senior professionals champion with an impressive score of gross 70, two under par while Asghar Ali of Gymkhana secured second spot with score of gross 71 and the third secured by Muhammed Akram(WAPDA) with gross 72.
Junior Professionals also completed their competitive outing yesterday and amongst them the winner was Usman Ali of Garrison Golf Club with gross score 71-one under par and the runners up slot was occupied by three participants ,Bilal Hussain of MCG ,Kashif Masih of Garrison and Amir Khan of Peshawar. These three were bracketed at a score of gross 74 and as per rules, Bilal Hussain was declared second and Kashif Masih secured third spot.
In the the senior amateurs ,Javed A.Khan (Gymkhana) dominated the proceedings and through accurate hitting and smooth putting came up with a score of gross 75,thus winning the top position in the senior amateur category. Competitors who won positions other than the first were Tariq Mehmood(Garrison) and Col Rustam Piracha also of Garrison. Tariq Mehmood secured second position with a gross score of 76 and Col Rustam Piracha ended on third with gross score was 77. Net first position was secured by Maj Gen Qasim Qureshi (Gymkhana) with the net score of 69. Col Muhammed Shafi (Garrison) picked up the second net and his net score was 72. Third net winner was Dr Khurran Saadat as he also had a net score of 72 but because of a better score over the last nine holes, Col Shafi was declared second.
The highlight of the day was a superb shot hit by Abdul Nafey Burki, on the par 3,4th hole. His shot was stunningly accurate but what turned out to be more stunning was that this shot after landing travelled about five yards and ended up in the hole yielding a rewarding hole in one for this golfer of Lahore Gymkhana. As a result of this success he becomes entitled to the hole in one car provided no other participant succeeds in getting a hole in one over the remaining three rounds. For the next three days he has to pray and hope no one else becomes as fortunate as him, otherwise he has to share the prize.
Today the Professionals and Amateurs aim is to light up the golf course with sparkling play. Shabbir Iqbal is looking brilliant and so were his challengers Muhammed Munir, Matloob Ahmed and Shahid Javed Khan. In the amateur category the champions who will be under focus are Ahmed Baig, M.Saqib and M.Rehman.
