Daily Times

LAHORE: The Egyptian Women’s Amateur Golf Open, Nefratiti Cup 2022, concluded on Sunday at El Gouna Golf Club Hurghada in Egypt, in which 10 countries participated including Canada, Jordan, Korea, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Tunisia, UAE and Egypt. This was the first time that Pakistan had been invited to participate in this very prestigious event. It is a matter of great pride for Pakistan that Humna Amjad secured second position after a ‘battle royale’ with Sofia Essakali of Morocco spread over three days and 54 holes. Although Humna was the joint leader with Sofia, with a score of 71, at the end of the first day’s play, her game suffered due to high windy conditions on the second and third day, which was a totally unfamiliar experience for her, causing her to achieve scores of 77 and 78. However, through sheer determination and application of her creditable golfing skills, Humna still managed to sink 8 birdies and 32 pars over the 54-hole tournament, to end up as an honourable runner-up for the best golfer’s trophy. It may be noted that this was the best result earned by a Pakistani woman golfer in an international event in recent years. Being the runner-up in this event, Humna qualified for participating in the Women’s European Tour, Aramco Saudi International in 2022, with all expenses to be paid by Golf Saudi, including airfare, boarding and lodging. Parkha Ejaz, the other Pakistan woman golfer, also put in her best and achieved scores of 76 and 75 on the first two days. However, her game suffered considerably due to the strong windy conditions on the third day taking her score to 82. Yet, she still managed to achieve 5th position in a field of 17 participants. Incidentally, she had the singular honour of scoring the only eagle in the championship. Mrs Amber Javed, the manager of the Pakistan team, never left the side of her players and was a great source of encouragement for them. It is pertinent to mention that women’s golf in Pakistan has seen meteoric rise ever since Lt Gen Mian Muhammad Hilal Hussain became President of the Pakistan Golf Federation (PGF) in 2017. The committee for development of ladies/girls golf,’ comprising all the lady members of the executive committee of the PGF, working under the leadership of Dr Asma Afzal Shami, is playing an important role in promotion of the women’s sport in the country.