Out of a total of 99 competing amateur golf players, three of the contenders outshone others by virtue of excellence on the golf course and thereby stood out as the top ones at the end of the first round of the three rounds Governor's Cup Golf Tournament, in progress at the par 72, Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course on Friday.
Saleem Raza of Gujranwala Golf Club who has a physical disability as a result of an accident, did not look bothered by his severe foot problem, and instead kept his nerves in control to hit superb drives from the tees and back them up with equally enviable shots from the fairways. As a result of consistent play over the 18 holes he managed two birdies on holes 1 and 11, twelve pars and encountered stroke losses on holes 3, 10, 12 and 18 and his aggregate net score for the first round was 68, four under par.
A young golfer Farooq Khan, of the host club is one and a very experienced national level stalwart, M. Rehman of Royal Palm is another. During the first round, Farooq Khan's three birdies on holes 7,8 and 10 were a treat to watch and he looked capable and accomplished but then inexperience gave him a bit of a jolt and bogies on holes 15, 16 and 17 were not too welcome and slightly messed up his card. All in all he has looked good and courageous and said that he is determined to make a match of it in the remaining two rounds.
As for M. Rehman of Royal Palm, he exhibited top of the line play, in the first 18 holes, proving that he is a player and competitor who cannot be overlooked. The class was visible in every aspect of his game and his hitting off the tees, in particular was massive. Five birdies on holes 3, 6, 7, 8 and 13 were a demonstration of how brilliant he can be, though stroke losses also came his way on holes 1, 11 and 14. Rehman plays to a handicap of 2, and it is indeed his perfection that gets him to the top on a day when middle handicappers enjoy a distinct advantage.
The Millat Tractors sponsored championship sees abundance of quality golf, as quite a few golfers are looking extremely good and in form. One stroke behind the leaders are three players, Taimur Shabbir(Gymkhana), Najam Hafeez(Gymkhana) and General Sabahat Hussain(Rawalpindi). To their credit it can be predicted that over the next two rounds they can make headway towards the forefront. Others in line are Omer Zia at net 70 along with Tariq Mehmood, Raza Ali Khan, Omer Soofi, Khalid Mehmood and Ahsan Zubair.
Other contenders who did well in the first round are six more competitors and score wise are clubbed together at net 71. Their names are Ghazanfar Mehmood, Dr Dildar Hussain, Danish Javed Khan, Mohsen Zafar, Imran Ahmed and Muhammed Hassan Saeed. The Senior Amateurs and Ladies will tee off on Saturday and play the tournament over 36 holes.
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