5 member Pakistani Junior Golf squad returns home
5 member Pakistani Junior Golf squad came back to Pakistan after featuring in the Asia Grand Final of 13th Nick Faldo Series which concluded at Laguna Lan Co Golf Course in Da Nang, Vietnam.
As many as 22 countries participated in the 13th Nick Faldo Series Asia Grand Final that made it a total of 108 golfers who were up against each other in the competitions.
But the Pakistani golfers who took part in this event which included 3 boys and 2 girls that were: Muhammad Arsalan, Muhammad Saqib, Damil Ata Ullah, Humna Amjad and Rimsha Ijaz. These selected golfers represented Pakistan in this mega international golfing event battling against top nation's from Asia Pacific but their performances were not as good to earn them any position in the event yet certain aspects of their golf playing ability stood out and got noticed by the icon of golf, Nick Faldo himself.
The youngest 15 year old, Damil Ata Ullah turned out to be the longest hitter of the ball and for shots around the green, both the girls, Rimsha and Hamna, created an impression of talent and ability. Damil ended up at the 38th spot, Saqib came 52nd, Arsalan 59th and Rimsha and Humna 60th.
Team manager Dr Afzal Shami took this matter up with Nick Faldo and his team and he, in turn, set up a meeting of 22 teams’ managers. Interestingly, what struck Nick Faldo was the comment by Mrs Shami, that ‘You build golf courses in developing countries, how about building golf in developing countries’.
As a result, Nick Faldo committed to send three coaches twice a year, free of charge. These coaches will focus on mental makeup, understanding of the golf course where these young ones are playing and to top it all, golf fundamentals. He also agreed to provide three to four track man gadgets.
The Faldo Series aims to create access to the sport for a younger audience through grass-roots initiatives at its tournaments. A successful not-for-profit organization that is raising the profile of golf around the world. For Sir Nick’s contributions and service to golf, Nick Faldo received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in November 2009. Sir Nick is the only living British golfer to receive such an honor and with 6 Major championships, more than 40 tournament victories and a total of 98 weeks as the world’s number 1 golfer, he is broadly regarded as the most successful golfer that Britain has ever produced.
