KARACHI, Aug 9: The 54-hole eighth Sindh Open Golf Championship will tee off at the Arabian Sea Country Club on Friday, secretary Sindh Golf Association (SGA) Asad I. A. Khan told a press conference on Wednesday.

The event which is being held under the aegis of SGA carries a total prize money of Rs500,000 for the Open category.

The winner will earn a purse of approximately Rs83,000. Besides this, Rs50,000 have been set aside for 36-holes senior professionals event for 50-year-olds and above.

Shabbir Iqbal of Navy, who surrendered CNS title to Ansar Mehmood last week, will not be defending his Open crown due to his committments abroad.

Other leading contender include Anser Mehmood, Shahid Javed, Nadeem Inayat, Amjad Yousuf etc. Wasim Rana will defend his Amateur title.

Unfolding details of the event, Asad said a couple of talented players from Sindh province have already been identified by SGA and they will be making their presence felt in the amateur event.

The SGA, he said, would incur approximately Rs700,000 in addition to the sponsorship money of Rs500,000 on the event which is part of the Pakistan Golf Federation calendar.