LAHORE: The first day of the three-day Quaid-e-Azam Amateur Golf Championship, backed by Brighto Paints, Jubilee Insurance and Pak Arab Developers, was earmarked for senior golfers in the age category 55 years and above and 52 of these skilled golfers fought it out amongst themselves for achieving top honours at the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course here Friday. Their competition was over 18 holes, and during the contest Hamid Sharif of Royal Palm Club came up with an outstanding performance, managing a score of net 65, seven under par. And by virtue of this terrific display of skills, he secured the net title in the seniors category beating many other strong contenders. A golfer of handicap 11, Hamid’s hitting off the tees carried the touch of a champion and not once did he stray from the fairways. Every shot that he hit represented perfection and this victory and achievement provided him a moment of glory and indeed even his club mates at Royal Palm felt elated by his excellence. In the race for honours in the net category, the other one who performed superbly was Dr Zafar Nasrullah of Lahore Gymkhana. No doubt, Dr Zafar played exceedingly well and with the help of a round of net 69 he secured the runner-up slot. The third position in the seniors net was won by Abdul Nafay. Some more good performances in net section came from Shaukat Javed who carded a net 72 and this same score was also achieved by Hamid Zaman. In the gross section of seniors, a very accomplished player of the national golf scene of the past, Imran Ahmed showed his prowess and succeeded in carding a round of gross 76. Even though Imran now competes in seniors category, his drives were a treat to watch and the way he kept his nerves in control was praiseworthy. His score of gross 76 was compiled through steady hitting and accuracy-loaded shot making from the fairways. The other one to perform well in gross section was Omer Farooq of Lahore Gymkhana. Omer came up with a gross round of 78 ,and became entitled to capture the second gross prize. Javed A Khan came third with a score of gross 82. Women also completed their competitive outing over 18 holes yesterday. Twenty two of them turned up to participate, backed by an urge to get hold of the Quaid-e-Azam golf title for women. After the completion of 18 holes the successful one turned out to be Shahzadi Gulfam of Punjab Police who emerged as the winner in net section with a score of net 71. The second position in net section was won by Zahida Durrani with a net score of 74 and this position she shared with Ayesha Moazzam. In the fight for gross honours, the two sisters – Parkha Ijaz and Rimsha Ijaz – were in the forefront. Parkha won the first gross prize with a score of gross 78. Rimsha came second. Her score was gross 83. Published in Daily Times, February 10th 2018.