No play was possible in the first round of the four-round 6th JA Zaman Memorial Open Golf Championship at the historic Lahore Gymkhana Club Golf Course here Thursday. Lined up for the first round were events for senior professionals, senior amateurs and veterans. These eager ones felt disconcerted and distressed. Many of them had come from other stations and in particular those seeking to play in senior professional category, which meant a financial impediment and denial. Hamid Zaman, head of the Zaman family that endorses and supports this championship, urged for accommodation of these disadvantaged ones and the tournament committee responded by allowing them to compete on Friday and Saturday. Now as per revised programme, the seniors will play nine holes on Friday and nine holes on Saturday and thereby fulfill their urge for competing, performing and winning. Also competing on Friday will be 100 leading professional golfers of the country including ace and hotshot players like Shabbir Iqbal, Matloob Ahmed, M Munir, Shahid Javed Khan Waheed Baloch and Hamza Amin. These professionals compete for money and the cash prizes are lucrative indeed. As for the amateurs, they also join the tee off hopefuls on Friday and the more luminous ones fighting for honours and top positions are Fakhar Imam, M Saqib, Robin Bagh, Hussain Hamid, Salman Jehangir and the talent loaded fifteen year old Damil Ataullah. The first tee off takes place on Friday (today) at 6:30 am. Published in Daily Times, February 22nd 2019.