LAHORE: In the inaugural Bin Qutab Foundation Hospital Golf Championship contested at the par-72, Royal Palm Golf and Country Club Golf Course over 18 holes here Monday, on a rather hot sunny day, apparent was the hostility amongst the leading single handicap amateurs who showed ample guts and courage to compete in this event held to highlight the existence of the Foundation Hospital in Bhubhar, Chakwal for the under privileged rural population. After a fearsome contest it was Abdul Islam Nazir who emerged as the gross section winner. Abdul Islam achieved the ascendancy over his nearest rival Asif Ahmed through a round of sustained golfing skill application that involved power hitting off the tees on all par-4’s, meticulous shot placing accuracy on the approach shots and avoiding any putting hiccups.
The field of 62 aspirants consisted of over a dozen potential aspirants, eager to win, and though they played well, victory evaded them because they could not reflect ease on many of their six foot putts which included players like Faisal Sayid, Shahid Abbas, Abbas Chaudhary and Hameed Sharid. While Abdul Islam topped the gross section in the handicap category 0-12, with a round of 82, his challenger Asif also ended the competition at the same score. But as per rules Abdul Islam was awarded the Bin Qutab trophy as he had a better score on the back nine.
As for the events in other categories, the winner in the net section of handicap category 0-12 was Abdullah Sharif with a score of net 70. He showed good powers of recovery to edge past Amir Kabir who had to be content with the runners up net prize.
As regards the senior contestants, those who demonstrated unruffled golf were Irfan Raja and Mansoor Zaigam. First gross was captured by Irfan and Mansoor was first in the net category. The winners in handicap category 13-18 were Saeed ul Haseeb, first gross, and Waqar Butt, second gross. The net category performers were Ale Naeem (first net) and Imran Amjad (second net). Nearest to the pin prize went to Ahsan Kabir and longest drive was hit by Khalid Chaudhary. Khawaja Khawar Rasheed, chairman of the Citizen Police Business Committee, and Bashir Malik, the founder of Bin Qutab Foundation, awarded prizes to the winners.