Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI: Local golfer Mohammad Zubair fired 69, 3 under par score to lead on day-3 with his total gross 206, 10 under par score in the 3rd Round of Bank AL Habib’s 12th Rashid D. Habib Memorial National Professional Golf Tournament 2023 here at the Karachi Golf Club (KGC) on Saturday. Mohammad Zubair from KGC fired 69, 3 under par to lead on third day with his gross 206, 10 under par. Defending champion Waheed and second day leader Mohammad Shehzad were crawling with two strokes deficit at 208, eight under par. Waheed Baloch played 71, one under par and only saved by his performances from previous two days. Matloob Ahmed smashed 67, five under par to form a trio of third lead with Aamir Khan, and Mohammad Shabbir Iqbal with joint gross of 211, five under par. Today’s brightest accomplishment however, was in Junior Professional category when 14 years old Ashas Amjad while teeing off at 13th hole of Blue Course achieved a hole-in-one. Ashas Amjad stood fifth in Junior category leaderboard with a gross of 81, nine over par. Bank Al Habib will reward Ashas with a brand new Toyota car. The first rounds of Junior and Senior Professional Categories were played on Saturday. Mohammad Sahil earned 38, two over par in Red and 36 at par at Blue to lead on first day with gross of 74, two over par. Musa Khan was following him with gross of 76, four over par. Duo of Jawad Ahmed and Mohammad Waqas was at third spot with gross of 78, six over par. In the Senior Professional Category, Mohammad Tariq and Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed were first day’s leaders with joint gross score of 68, four under par. Pervez Khan was close with 69, three under par, followed by Chaudhry Asghar Ali- 70, two under par.

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI: Mohammad Shehzad earned a vital lead on Day-II of the Bank AL Habib’s 12th Rashid D. Habib Memorial National Professional Golf Tournament 2023 was played on Friday here at the Karachi Golf Club (KGC). Mohammad Shehzad who tied lead with six other on day one, shot 67, five under par and maintained lead to second day with a gross of 136, eight under par. Mohammad Zubair and Defending Waheed Baloch were his close challengers with joint score of 68, four under par. Pakistan’s Ace golfer Shabbir Iqbal was sharing the second day’s third position with Ashiq Hussain by carding a joint gross of 140, four under. Waheed Baloch, Mohammad Shehzad and Mohammad Zubair started well on second day. Waheed started with four birdies on red course but on blue side his single bogie stopped him from lead. Mohammad Shehzad started from blue and carded one under par. Shehzad’s four birdies on the red side helped him to lead on second day. Mohammad Zubar shot three under on blue side and one birdie on red side. After the cut on second day, 40 Professionals will participate on Saturday till the final round. Competitions for Senior and Junior Professionals will also start from Saturday.

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI: The first Round of Bank AL Habib’s 12th Rashid D. Habib Memorial National Professional Golf Tournament 2023 teed off here at the Karachi Golf Club (KGC) on Thursday. Defending Champion Waheed Baloch, Pakistan’s Ace Golfer Shabbir Iqbal, Mohammad Zubair, Zahir Shah, Mohammad Shehzad and Asad Khan shared 69, three under par, and were jointly leading on first day. Khalid Khan, Ashiq Hussain and Matloob Ahmed were a stroke behind with a score of 70, two under par. Pakistan’s Ace Golfer Mohammad Shabbir Iqbal started an amazing round in Red Course and played four under par. Shabbir played one over at the Blue side. Waheed Baloch started from Blue Course and played one under. His two under at the red helped his place with the first day leaders. Zubair at the Red played 36 par but did three under par after completing the blue side. Young Asad Khan also displayed good round of 32, four under par at Red Course but played one over par at Blue.

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI: Over 100 top national golfers will take part in the Bank AL Habib’s 12th Rashid D. Habib Memorial National Professional Golf Tournament, which will tee off on Thursday (January 19, 2023) here at the Karachi Golf Club (KGC). The final round will be played on Sunday at the same venue. According to an official, more than hundred top golfers will compete in the Professionals category for the most coveted four-day national trophy of the annual Golf season. Last year, Waheed Baloch of KGC carded 278, 10 under par, had won the title while Mohammad Shabbir Iqbal of Islamabad and Mohammad Munir of Rawalpindi were placed on 2nd and 3rd position respectively. Prior to this event, a two-day match for local KGC Professionals, Senior Professionals and KGC Caddies, the 22nd edition of Rashid D. Habib Memorial Golf Tournament, will be played on 17th and 18th January, with the aim to support and develop professional golf at KGC. The total Prize Money of PKR 10 million includes PKR 7.95m for Best Performers in National Professional Category, aggregate PKR 1.4m for KGC Professionals, Caddies and Senior Pros, as well as Appearance Money of PKR 650,000. The Appearance Money is distributed amongst the top five Professionals and top three Senior Professionals, as per PGF current ranking. The lucky players achieving first hole-in-one will also be rewarded with a Toyota Corolla and a Suzuki Alto in national and local categories respectively.

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI: Ace Golfer Mohammad Shabbir has clinched the title of the 42nd Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Open Golf Championship with a gross score of 278 ten under par that concluded here at Airmen Golf Club & Recreational Park, Korangi Creek on Sunday. Mohammad Alam claimed the second position with 285 scores while the third position was achieved by Hamza Taimur Amin and Mohammad Zubair jointly with a gross score of 288. Air Marshal Hamid Rashid Randhawa, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Administration), PAF was the chief guest at the occasion. He congratulated the winners and appreciated the management committee & officials of Airmen Golf Course for making the event a huge success. Over 300 golfers took part in the championship which was played over 18 holes for five days at one of the most challenging golf courses of the country. Chief of the Air Staff Open Golf Championship was introduced in 1977 and ever since has been a regular feature in Pakistan Golf Federation (PGF) and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) annual sports calendars.

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI (December 25, 2022): A local golfer, Saim Shazli has won the title of the 12th Engro Sindh Golf Association (SGA) President Golf Cup 2022 after completing 54 holes game on Sunday at Defence Authority Golf Club here. The main category was Amateurs HC 0-5 and winner of the championship with net score of 206, 10 under par was Arsalan Mughal from Karachi Golf Club (KGC). Saim Shazli of KCG maintained lead throughout the tournament and lifted the title of the Amateurs 0-5HC category with a gross of 213, 3 under par. Yashal Shah, also from KGC was the runner up in this category. Sameer Syed and Samir Feroz, both from KGC were winner and runner-up in Amateur net. Aania Farooq from Airman Club was the new leader in Ladies 0-12 HC gross category. Abiha Hanim Syed from DHA Club were jointly runner-up. In the net category, Amna Amjad (KGC) and Humera Khalid (DHA) secured first and second position correspondingly. In Ladies 13-36 HC gross category, Tabassum Sharif (KGC) won the trophy, with Anum Zahra and Nida Haq both from DHA earned at the second and third position. Golfers’ in the Veterans 75 years and above contested for two days (9 holes each day), in Gross category, Group Captain Aftab A Khan from KGC claimed top position. Col Shahid Mahboob (DHA) scored 87 and was declared runner-up. In Net category Dr. Zubair Mirza (KGC) took the first position. Winner of Runner-up net category was Vice Admiral Shamoon Khan a three way tie between Bakhtyar Saeed and Shahid Murtaza. Major Rizwan Farooq of DHA Club was the new trophy bearer in Veterans 70-75 years Gross category, with Brig Latif Butt also from DHA as the runner-up. Net category has Mir Ali Raza of Airmen Golf Club as winner. Sherjan Tajik of DHA was the runner-up in this category winning over Captain Safdar Amin in a tie breaker. In the Junior’s under 14 Gross category, Waleed Bilal from KGC became the new leader and Nyle Aurangzeb from DHA got the second position. The net category has Mohammad Hamzah Sheikh and Mohammad Shaffay Ali as winner and runner-up respectively. Chief guest at the ceremony was Rizwan Masood Raja, Chief People Officer of Engro Corporation distributed prizes amongst the winners. Rizwan congratulated Sindh Golf Association on successfully holding the 12th Engro SGA President Cup and assured of Engro’s cooperation in future as well. SGA President Khurram Khan thanked the sponsor for support and congratulated all the winners. Khurram said, “On behalf SGA I would like to sincerely thank Secretary DHA Golf Club- Brigadier Ahsan Masood, his team on providing us the golf course in such good shape. I would also like to thank Secretary SGA- Col Zahid and all officer bearers. SGA leadership would like to appreciate the efforts and hard work of our team including Commander Shazli Azhar, Baseer and Roshan for making this tournament a success.” Secretary SGA Col Zahid said, “We have been speaking with international golf associations for training of Pakistani golfers. Very soon we will see global trainers coaching our young girls and boys in Karachi.”

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI (December 24, 2022): Saim Shazli maintained his lead on the second day of the 12th Engro SGA President Cup 2022 with 143 score on Saturday here at Defence Authority Golf Club. Yashal Shah also from KGC is following Saim by scoring 147-three over par on Day 2. KCG’s another duo of Samir Feroz and Arsalan Mughal is jointly holding third position on second day with their 153-nine over par. In the Veterans 75 years and above, Group Captain Aftab A Khan from KGC is leading with combined two-day score of 83. Col Shahid Mahboob scored 87 on Day 2 and holding second position. Dr. Zubair Mirza is holding at third from day one in this category. Major Rizwan Farooq of DHA Club maintained lead from day 1 in Veterans 70-75 years category, with Brig Latif Butt following him. In the Juniors’ Under-14 category, Waleed Bilal from KGC also maintained lead and Nyle Aurangzeb following him. Shayan Zia is at third on Day two. Final round of the tournament will be played on Sunday 25th December. Karachi’s weather with chilled breeze and bright sunlight gives a clear view to the golfers playing at Defence Authority Club situated at coastline.

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI: Saim Shazli and Yashal Shah both from Karachi Golf Club (KGC) earned the in the main Amateurs Category with a joint score of 70, two under par, as Mohammad Ali Manan, Vivek Anand and Arsalan Mughal were behind with 74, two over par in the first round of the 12th Engro SGA President Cup 2022 that teed off here at Defence Authority Golf Club on Friday. In the Veterans 75 years and above competition, Col Shahid Mahboob from DHA and Group Captain Aftab A Khan from KGC were on the top with 41 score each. Dr. Zubair Mirza was spotted at third place. Major Rizwan Farooq of DHA Club was leading in Veterans 70-75 years category, with Brig Naveed Nasar following him after 18 holes game. In the Juniors under 14 category, Waleed Bilal from KGC was leading on first day with 85, 13 over par. Nyle Aurangzeb was following him with 87, 15 over par. The 54 holes tournament will be played for three days, following the rules and regulations of Pakistan Golf Federation (PGF). Final round will be played on Sunday 25th December and will decide the Winner for this year. The greens at DHA Golf Club are in best shape and Karachi’s weather is suitable for the play.

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI: The Engro, 12th SGA President Championship 2022 will tee-off on Friday (December 23) at Defence Authority Golf Club under the banner of Sindh Golf Association (SGA), as top golfers will fight for top honour during the three-day national fixture. Mohsin Farooq from Rawalpindi will defend his title, as he won the title in 2021 with carded a score of 135 which is 9 under par and took the trophy with him. Among other prominent golfers in various categories are Omar Khalid, Omar Shikoh Khan, and Saim Shazli who have practiced hard and improved their skills. Categories in the Cup include Amateurs (0 -14), Senior Amateurs (0 – 14), Veterans (70 – 74 years of age) & Super Veterans (75 and above), Ladies (0 – 36) & the Juniors (under 14). The 0 – 5 handicap Ladies will be competing with Amateurs and shall play three days of golf.  The 54 holes tournament will be played for three days, following the rules and regulations of Pakistan Golf Federation (PGF). Final round will be played on Sunday 25th December and will decide the Winner for this year. The greens at DHA Golf Club are in best shape and Karachi’s weather is suitable for the play. President SGA Khurram Khan said: “Tournaments by Sindh Golf Association are promoting and developing Golf in Sindh and encouraging the talented golfers. SGA welcomes all participants joining us from different areas of Pakistan in this championship.” “Golf is the only outdoor game with no age restriction. We have Golfers from under 14 years of age till those who have seen more than 80 winters in their life. Golf is becoming increasingly popular with both female and male youth of our country. Our Golf Clubs have been proved as a virtuous training ground for finest golfers in our country as now our players are seen competing at international golf events.”

Sports Bulletin Report PESHAWAR: Humna Amjad has won the title of 2nd KPGA (Khyber PakhtunaKawa Golf Association) Soni Wali Ladies Golf Cup 2022 that held at the historic Peshawar Golf Course from December 16 to 18. Tournament owes its genesis to the visionary initiative taken by Dr Asma Afzal Shami in 2021 to honor lady icons of yesteryears namely, Soni Wali, the trail blazer of women’s golf in KPK and Ghazala Ansari, the first Pakistani lady to achieve H’cap 1. This year’s event is the second in the series dedicated to honouring the memory of Soni Wali. Besides being the pioneer of ladies golf in KPK, she eventually became a role model for all lady golfers by winning the National Championship in 1976 and 1980. The driving force behind this Tournament has been her brother Iqbal Wali, and her sister Rani Wali, who, as a family, were also its sole financial sponsor. The listing of ladies championships like Soni Wali Cup on WAGR has induced competitiveness and increased the field-size, as now more girls play to earn precious WAGR points. Hamna Amjad emerged as gross winner in a nail-biting finish with a score of 216, while Parkha Ijaz secured second gross with 219. Incidentally, Parkha had ended day 1 with a dazzling 69, i.e. 3 under par. This dropped her handicap to scratch. Thus Parkha entered the final, third round with a 3 strokes advantage over Humna. However, with two bogies in the first nine holes and Humna’s spectacular eagle on the 6th hole, Parkha not only lost her advantage but also trailed her rival by one stroke. At this crucial stage, where Parkha and Humna were evenly matched in their golfing skills, Humna won the contest due to her superiority in maintaining her focus and composure under pressure. Rimsha Ijaz won third gross with a score of 234, while Abiha Syed from KGC won fourth with 237 strokes. In Category B, Sara Amin won first gross, Areeba Rizwan second and Maliha Elahi gross third. In Category B, Sana Zeeshan won the 1st net, Zarmina Khan second and Salza Shah third. Similarly in Category C, Meerab Rizwan won the first gross, Samina Ishtiaq second and Dr Ghazala Shams third. Sadia Askar from Mardan won the first net, Noor us Sabah second and Rabia Rashid third. Dr. Fareeda Naseer, the senior most lady golfer from Peshawar, demonstrated her knack for golf in Seniors Category by winning the gross prize. In Junior Girls (U-14) Category, Zoha Zeehan and Zaina Zeeshan won first and second positions respectively. Summing up the performances, the top three players, Humna Amjad, Parkha Ijaz and Rimsha Ijaz belong to Peshawar, treading the path of Soni Wali. A special mention needs to be made of two, U-14 girls, i.e. Ramin Amin and Sara Amin, both also from Peshawar, who played 13 and 14 under over the course of the Tournament, dropping their H’caps in a short span of only 2 years from 36 to 10 and 14 respectively. It’s worth mentioning here that Ramin and Sara credited their excellent performances to the experience that they had gained from their recent participation in the 22nd Sarawak Premier International Junior Golf Championship held recently in Malaysia, organized by Dr. Asma Shami in her capacity as Patron of Ace Junior Golf League. Vice President Peshawar Golf Club Air Commodore Shahid Waheed was the chief guest at the scintillating prize distribution ceremony. He complimented Dr Ghazala Shams and her Tournament Committee, comprising entirely of ladies, for planning and conducting this mega event in such an exemplary manner. He especially lauded the role of Chief Referee, Mrs. Munazza Shaheen, for conducting this championship strictly according to the rules. She has recently added to her laurels by earning R&A Level-2 Certification with a distinction.