LAHORE – The first KPGA Soni Wali Cup, Ladies Amateur Golf Championship, was held from 17th-19th December 2021 at the historic Peshawar Golf Course and was won by Ami Qin, who won the first gross with a score of 251 in Category A.
This championship was held in the memory of Soni Wali, the pioneer of ladies golf in KPK and became a role model for all lady golfers by winning the National Championship in 1976. It needs to be appreciated that the planning and execution of this event was carried out by a Tournament Committee comprised entirely of women, led by its Tournament Director, Dr. Ghazala Shams. Chief Referee Munaza Shaheen, who is Pakistan’s first qualified lady referee, conducted this event strictly according to the rules.
The fact that the majority of the 45 participants in this event had come from all over Pakistan to pay tribute to the memory of their trail blazing Pathan sister, clearly highlighted the sense of National Integration that Dr Asma Afzal Shami, Chairperson Ladies Golf, PGF, has been able to inculcate among the women golfers of Pakistan. Prominent among them were Brig Nasira Shaheen and the legendary Mrs Tahira Nazir, both of whom had been Soni’s golfing contemporaries.
The golfers were divided into three, handicap based, categories; A, B and C. This provided those, with higher handicaps, an opportunity to also win a prize. A special category for junior girls U-14 was also included. In Cat A, Ami Qin won the 1st Gross with a score of 251, while Bushra Fatima got 2nd with 261. Jasia Tassawar won 1st Net while Arooba Ali got the 2nd.
In Cat B, 1st Gross was won by Rameen Amin with 178, Aisha Fozan got 2nd with 182 and Sameea Javed 3rd with 187. Similarly Rafaqat Abjad with a net score of 145 won 1st Net, while Sheharbano Hamdani with 146 got 2nd and Uzma Khursheed with 150 3rd. In Cat C, 1st Gross was won by Amber Javed with 198 while Meerab Rizwan with 207 was 2nd and Memoona Azam with 213 got 3rd. In the Net Cat, 1st Net was won by Dr. Ghazala Shams with 144 net, while Noor Us Sabah with 156 was 2nd and Areeba Rizwan with 159 won 3rd.
In the Junior Girls Section, in which 12 girls U-14 participated, the 1st Prize went to Areej Atif and 2nd to Mysha Binte Mohsin. A special mention needs to be made of the performances of Rameen Amin, Meerab Rizwan, Ghazala Shams, Uzma Khurshid and Sara Amin who played 9,8,6,4and3 under their handicaps respectively. This reflects very positively on the competitive spirit that has now got ingrained amongst the lady golfers.
Brig Mudassar Syed was the Chief Guest at the flawlessly conducted Prize Distribution Ceremony and distributed prizes among the winners. The idea of organizing 1st KPGA Soni Wali Cup was conceived by Dr. Asma Shami, while the event was fully sponsored by Mr. Iqbal Wali, Soni’s brother and Ms. Rani Wali, Soni’s sister. Soni Wali’s memory lives on.
