KARACHI, Aug 27: The 5th Sindh Open Golf Championship tees off at the Arabian Sea Country Club tomorrow with top professionals from all over the country vying for the coveted title.

The four-day event to be played over 72 holes carries a purse of Rs 500,000 to be shared among the top 30 finishers, with the winner receiving Rs 87,000 and runner-up Rs 67,000. There is an additional cash prize of Rs 100,000 for Hole-in-One in the professional category and a golf kit bag in the amateur category.

The championship is being held immediately after the recently concluded CNS Golf Championship played at the Karachi Golf Club, to enable and facilitate leading golfers from upcountry to participate in two major and prestigious tournaments of Sindh.

Almost 100 professionals will be competing in the professional category with last year’s champion Matloob Ahmad of Pakistan Railways defending his title against strong adversaries Shabbir Iqbal the current CNS champion, Imdad Hussain, Javed Inayat and Shafiq Masih.

A subsidiary two-day tournament for amateurs will be played over 36 holes for which they are few leading contenders as the most of the top amateurs have gone to Australia to participate in the Nomura Cup.

There will also be a seniors competition over 18 holes and a Veterans event over 9 holes to be played on the last day of the championship.