LAHORE – Muhammad Shoaib and Parkha Ijaz secured the men’s and ladies’ national golf titles, respectively, in the Pakistan Golf Federation-backed Smart City 62nd National Amateur Golf Championship that concluded here at the historic Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course on Saturday.
Shoaib, hailing from a humble background, pursued a golfing career a few years ago and devoted countless hours to refine his skills, mentored by coach Malik Shahbaz. His persistent efforts paid off as he emerged triumphant and claimed the national golf title.
Shoaib’s success is attributable to four-round scores of 71, 73, 77, and 73, with an aggregate of 294, six over par. His shot-making skills were impressive, backed by an excellent short game. Salman Jehangir finished second, two strokes behind Shoaib, with a score of 296, with Ahmed Zafar Hayat of Islamabad Golf Club securing third place with a score of 299. The net category winner was Sameer Iftikhar with a net score of 280, followed by Noman Asghar with a score of 283 and Ghulam Qadir with a score of 290.
Parkha Ijaz of Defence Raya won the Ladies title, securing the victory with scores of 77, 76, and 76 and a total of 229. Aania Farooq Syed of Airmen Golf Club secured the runner-up position with an aggregate score of 242, and Rimsha Ijaz won third gross with a score of 247. Humna Amjad of PAF won the net section ladies’ title with a net score of 227, followed by Bushra Fatima of Garrison and Amina Tiwana of Royal Palm.
The best senior amateur was Sardar Murad, and the best senior in the net section was Rashid Akbar. The Pakistan Team won the JR Jaywardene Trophy and the International Team Trophy, while the Pakistan Ladies Team won the International Team Match against Qatar, Punjab won the Inter-Provincial Match and the Seniors Inter-Association was won by Punjab.
Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighurrehman praised Munazza Shaheen, Tournament Director, in person, for her exceptional achievement of qualifying as a TARS Rules Official, from UK, with merit, adding, she had brought an honour to Pakistan. He also acknowledged PGF’s role in promoting ladies golf and appointing highly qualified women to such prestigious positions. Brig Sohail, representing PGF, particularly pointed out that Munazza Shaheen added the much-needed professionalism to the job of as Tournament Director.
In the end, the prizes were awarded to winners by Governor Punjab M Balighurrehman in the presence of Salman Siddique, Chairman Lahore Gymkhana, Shaukat Javed, Convenor Golf, Brig Sohail of PGF, Malik Kamran (PGF), Khurram Khan of Sind Golf, Sulman Abassi, Rumanza Golf Club, Bela Azam & Mr. Taimoor (GGC), golf champions and golf members.
