Daily Times

LAHORE: The three days 6th Nick Faldo Series Pakistan Golf Championship came to a heart warming conclusion at the exquisite Defence Raya Golf Club Golf Course here on Monday. A total of 42 junior golfers from all over Pakistan took part in this championship. And at the end, it was Mohammad Saqib of Lahore Garrison Golf Club who emerged as the best competitor of the tournament. He was not best in his own age category of under-16 but also in the overall reckoning because of excellent application of golfing skills and exhibition of mental toughness.

This golf championship also brought good news for Ahmad Baig, also of Lahore Garrison, who managed to stand first in the age category of under-18. Ahmad was accurate and long off the tees, a crisp hitter when it came to approach shots and his putting was amazingly error free. As for the top one in the age category under-21, the successful one was Nadeem Aslam also of Garrison Club. Though he came first in the under-21 category his overall score for the three days lacked the outstanding touch when compared to the scores produced by Saqib and Ahmad.

Amongst the girls the one who achieved top position was Aania Farooq of Karachi who showed ample determination to push back the overnight leader Suneyah Osama through a good round on the final day. As for the details of individual performances in each age category, Saqib performed brilliantly. He was the young one in full control of his game and each aspect of his game reflected control and maturity. Be it the drives off the tees on all par 5’s and par 4’s, or the approach shots, visible was balance and accuracy. Not once did he drift from the fairways. He stuck to his game plan and the devotion brought forth the results that he sought for himself. In turn he brought a good name to his parent club and his coaches. Statistically, he had scores of 75 on the first day, an outstanding 67 on the second day and a superb 66 on the final day. That gave him an aggregate of eight under par 208 for the championship. In the under-16, another one who did well was Damil Ataullah, with scores of 72, 79 and 74 and an overall aggregate of 225. This young also carried the burden of studies on his head and yet managed to make his presence felt in the closely contested championship. Out of the leading performers in the under-18, Ahmad came first with three rounds scores of 76, 71 and 65 and an aggregate of 212. Ali Anish Rehman was second with three rounds scores of 80, 74 and 79 and an overall aggregate of 233. Nadeem Aslam topped in the under-21 with a score of 225 followed by Salim Shazli at 233. In the girls section, Aania beat the other contenders with scores of 84, 83 and 77 and an overall aggregate of 244. Suneya and Parkha Ijaz shared the second place with similar scores of 247. At the conclusion of the event the prizes were awarded to the top performers by Maj Gen Tariq Saleem, Vice President of the Pakistan Golf Federation. Brig (r) Nayyar Afzal, Honorary Secretary of the Pakistan Golf Federation, stated that the top performers in each age category would go to China in March 2017. “The selected ones will undergo extensive coaching before they proceed to China,” he added.