LAHORE: The 7th edition of Chief of Naval Staff Amateur Golf Championship will tee off – with a galaxy of amateurs players of the country showing their talent and technique – at the Garrison Golf and Country Club here from Friday (tomorrow). Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, the Station Commander of Pakistan Navy Lahore, Commodore SM Shahzad, stated that this was the 7th consecutive year of this championship, and for this much sought after annual event the Garrison Golf Club has been chosen to play host to this championship. Also present on the occasion were Brig (r) R Bajwa, chief referee of the championship, Khawaja Pervaiz Saeed, director media, and Lt Cmdr Kashif of Pakistan Navy. The CNS Championship represents a continuity of effort and devotion by Pakistan Navy to the cause of promoting golf in the country. This championship has now acquired the status of a premier event and is eagerly sought after by champions of the golf arena, as well as other upcoming and talented golfers who seek elevation of their ranking in the national golf circuit of Pakistan. “Because of its popularity and endorsement by Pakistan Navy, this event has acquired a reputation of excellence and all stake holders are vying to make sure that all aspects of the championship are handled and executed in a superb manner and the competitive activity illuminates the golf scene of the country,” he added. Shahzad also stated that the foremost positive aspect of the event was that it was open to the top golf amateurs of the country. “In this regard every significant champion of the national golf scene that matters in the golf arena of Pakistan will be there to demonstrate his brilliance and compete in a most dignified manner. Top ranked players are determined to come up with amazing golf scores so as to bring joy to all stake holders associated with this championship and in the process prove that they are champions of value in this game of skills,” he said. Khawaja Saeed said that as many as three hundred players would be taking part in different events of the competition. “This event seeks to create an opportunity whereby they can apply their golfing skills in a way that the scores they attain help them to get noticed at the national level and subsequently represent the country in international competitions”, he said. The leading ones who are going to make the competition fierce are Wazir Ali, Mohammad Rehman, Zhoaib Asif, Fakhar Imam, Zunair Aleem, Robin Bagh, Ahmed Zafar Hayat, Mohsen Zafar and Ahsan Khawaja. The eligibility criteria for the main event for amateurs will be contested over three rounds with 18 holes to be played each day, making it a total of 54 holes. Winner in this category will be awarded the title and the trophy and the victorious one will be the competitor with the best gross score. The seniors will compete over a total of 18 holes with 9 holes to be played on 10th November and 9 holes on 11th November. Those eligible to participate must be above 55 years and have a handicap of 14 and below. Ladies contest will be over 18 holes on 11th November and criteria for handicap is 30 and below. Published in Daily Times, November 9th 2017.