LAHORE: Pakistan won the J.R. Jayewardene Trophy beating Sri Lanka in the 53rd National Amateur Golf Championship at the Royal Palm Golf Club here on Saturday.

Pakistan team comprising Salman Jehangir and Taimur Khan overcame the Sri Lankan duo of Sisri Kumara and P. Hemanta.

On Friday, Pakistan had also won the international team title during which both Salman and Taimur played key roles.

The contest for the Inter Association Team Trophy featuring Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Federal teams concluded after 54 holes (three rounds) in which Punjab team stunned Sindh to come out as winners.

The last 18 holes punch by the Punjab was too much for Sindh, who could not hold on to the top slot. And as Asad I.A.Khan, manager of the Sindh team rightly said, the final blow was simply unbearable. At the start of the day, Sindh had an advantage of seven strokes which is a big margin, yet the leaders did not foresee the excellence that Punjab could come up with.

For Punjab, Mohammad Rehman (72), Ghazanfar Mahmood (74) and Mohsen Zafar (73) reflected mastery and control and their nearest competitors just could not match the excellence.

The Sindh team members Waseem Rana, Ali Hai, Mansoor Teli and Zohaib Asif lost their way and found the challenge of the golf course too hot to handle.

Sunday is the final day of the championship and at the conclusion of the championship, the prize distribution will be held at 5pm.

Scores:

Inter Association Trophy (final):

1. Punjab 679; 2. Sindh 687; 3. Federal 699; 4. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 702; 5. Balochistan 733.

Leader board position in individual event:

Zulfiqar Ali (Multan) 70+76+74=210, Salman Jehangir (Gymkhana) 76+72+77=225, Ghazanfar Mahmood (Rawalpindi) 76+76+74=226, Taimoor Khan (Peshawar) 72+75+79=226, Ali Hai (Karachi) 75+74+77=226, Mubariz Ahmed (Islamabad) 74+72+81=227,

Ladies event:

Maryama Khan 83+83=166, Ghazala Yasmin 85+83=168, Ami Qin 82+91=17, Zaib-un-Nisa 89+94=179, Ana James 92+95=187.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2014