The 58th National Amateur Golf Championship of Pakistan 2019 will commence at the Garrison Golf Course here from Thursday (today). And for the next four days, the leading amateur golf players of the country will be engrossed in an encounter and skirmish for capturing the national champion title. On offer is the national amateur golf title for the year and though accomplished aspirants are many, the most battle hardened one who can perform under pressure is likely to end up in jubilation and triumph. Eligibility in the men’s category is that participating amateurs should have a handicap of seven and below and this restriction brings together the very best of the country’s golf circuit. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is represented by merited names like Taimoor Khan, M Ashfaq and Kabir Khan. They are experience enriched and if they keep their nerves in check they can turn out to be front runners as the championship progresses. However, the champions with an eye on the title are quite a few from Punjab also. Ashiq Hussain and Ghazanfar Mehmood are high quality and calibre golfers possessing the capacity to stand out as players who can outdo any adversary but then the vital putts have to drop to give them a winning edge in an event of this level. More adept ones from this province are Salman Jehangir, Khalid Mehmood, Salman Akhter and not to forget the upcoming young one M Saqib. If the practice rounds are any indication, these proficient and gifted ones are certainly in with a chance.
From Sindh, Saim Shazli appears as a golfer who competes artfully. What he has to do is to remain calm and not focus on long drives only. His team mate from Sindh Sajid Khan is a golfer who handles his all round game adroitly and efficiently and is likely to stand out in this championship. Zohaib Asif is another one from Sindh who seems determined to perform well and has practiced hard over the past few weeks. Some others who deserve a mention are Babar Khokher and Umer Khokher from Federal Golf Association. A few more capable names are those of Hussain Hamid, Danish Javed, Ayaz Saleem, Shahid A Khan and Mohsin Zafar. While the race for national title is the premier and paramount segment, other segments are the women’s event, seniors’ amateur event and inter association team match between all the provinces.