KARACHI: Pakistan’s most accomplished professional golfer Shabbir Iqbal is set to delight the fraternity again when he defends his title in the Rs.3 million 19th Sindh Open Golf Championship which tees off at the Arabian Sea Country Club (ASCC) in the outskirts of the city here on Friday (tomorrow). The ace golfer, who reached great heights by setting course record of 10 under par 62 in the first round last year before winning the title, is among a galaxy of golfers who will vie for the honours in the 54-holes event. Two other events, junior pros (under-23 years) and senior pros (over 50 years) will be played concurrently over 36-holes. Besides the Open, other competitions that take place include 54-holes amateurs, 36-holes senior amateurs (over 55 years) and a 10-holes match for women and junior amateurs. The details of the event were spelt out by the chairman of club and genius sports administrator Arif Ali Khan Abbasi and president of the Sindh Golf Association (SGA) Asad IA Khan at a press conference held at the Karachi Press Club. The newly-elected SGA secretary general Zahid Iqbal also spoke on the occasion. Former SGA secretary general Asharf Khan Ghouri and sponsors representative Mohammad Tauseef were also present. Speaking on the occasion Abbasi dispelled the notion that golf was elite sport. “Majority of the pros are caddies and come from the poor background,” he opined. Asked was there any plan to make it an international event in future he said: “It’s an expensive sport and cited example of the Turkish Airlines that paid US$100,000 to renowned golfer Tiger Woods for one shot. Asad Khan said golf was flourishing fast in the country and was second to none in terms of prize money. Paying glowing tributes to Shabbir Iqbal, he said the country’s top golfer had achieved milestone with a long list of titles and it would be hard to emulate. He also applauded former secretary Ghauri for his contribution to the promotion of game. Published in Daily Times, August 3rd 2017.