LAHORE, Nov 13: Defendingh champion Matloob  Ahmad  (Lahore Gymkhana) faces stiff challenge from the top seed  Shabbir Iqbal  (Islamabad)  in  the  All  Pakistan  Garrison  Open   Golf Tournament which tees-off at the Lahore Garrison Club  course from tomorrow (Wednesday).

The  organising  secretary  of the  tournament  Brig.  (retd.) Mukhtar-ul-Haq  while briefing the mediamen on Tuesday said  that in  all 310 entries had been received for all the six  events  of the  tournament.  

He said that 88 entries were received  for  the professionals event, 128 for amateurs, 43 for the seniors, 27 for veterans, four for ladies and five for the juniors. In professional event, besides Shabbir Iqbal and Matloob Ahmad, the other seasoned golfers were Imdad Husain and Ghulam Nabi.

In  the amateurs section, MCPO Tariq Mehmood  (Islamabad)  will defend his title. The other prominent golfers are Shahid Javed Khan (Gymkhana) and Ghazanfar Mehmood (Rawalpindi). Commenting  on  the  condition of  the  course,  Mukhtar-ul-Haq claimed  that at the moment, the Lahore Garrison course  was  the best venue available in Lahore.

It had soft fairways and  greens. The course had 72 pars with total length  of  6687 yards. The lush green ways had not a single patch of dry  grass, he claimed.

According  to the draws, the first flight of the  professional golfers  will take start at 7am and the amateurs will  begin  the march at 10.30am.