KARACHI: Omar Khalid and Yashal Shah, Pakistan’s top and third-ranked amateurs, will feature in the 74th US Junior Amateur Championship, one of the biggest junior competitions in international golf, at the world famous Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, USA.

It is a rare occasion for Pakistan golf as Omar and Yashal earned exemptions to play in the prestigious championship to be held from July 25 to 30. A total of 264 players from all over the world will take part in the championship. Only 47 of them have earned an exemption on the basis of their positions in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) while the rest won tickets to Bandon Dunes via qualifying rounds which took place in various parts of the US earlier this summer.

While Omar, who holds the record of being the youngest ever National Amateur champion of Pakistan, has risen to a career-high No.294 in the WAGR and also took part in the British Amateurs last month, the talented Yashal has won several tournaments domestically and is ranked 503rd.

The legendary Tiger Woods as well as Jordan Spieth are past winners of the US Junior Amateurs.

A field of 264 golfers will compete in stroke-play competition on Monday and Tuesday. The top 64 will advance to the match-play competition which will begin on Wednesday and conclude on Saturday with a 36-hole match between the finalists.

The winner of the championship will earn an exemption into the 2023 US Open to be played at the Los Angeles Country Club. He will also earn an exemption into the next two US Amateurs.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2022