Saqib stands out at golf trials
LAHORE: The three-day trials to select Pakistan junior squads for age categories of 11-14, 15-17 and 18-20 in boys section started at the Defence Raya Golf Course here on Saturday.
Simultaneously, trials also started for selecting female golfers in age categories of 12 to 14, 15 to 17 and 18 to 21.
On the first day of the trials, the 14-year-old Saqib Tufail of Lahore’s Garrison Golf Club stood out as a golfer of considerable merit.
Saqib registered accurate drives showing his excellence in and around the greens. In the first 18 holes, he had three birdies on holes 5, 10 and 11, twelve regulation pars and three bogies on holes 9, 14 and 18.
Others who made their presence felt in the 11-14 age category include Basil Rehman, Damil Ataullah, Hamza Siddiqi and Junaid Irfan. Basil did well with a score of gross 78 and so did Damil (79).
As for Hamza and Junaid, they represent the talent from Karachi and both look to be in great form.
In the age category under 15-17, Ahmed Baig led with a score of gross 75, the second best score of the day. Following him in this category is Ali Anish Rehman (79).
In the U-21 category, Ali Aziz Soorti did the best in the opening round with the score of 79. His nearest rival is Usman Ali.
In the trials for females, Parkha Ijaz leads in the 12-14 category closely followed by Suneya Osama, who is one shot behind after the first round.
Meanwhile, Aania Farooq Syed is in front in the 15-17 age category while Maryama Khan topped the list in the 18-21 class.
After the three rounds, the top player in each age category will be selected for training in Pakistan and abroad.
Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2015
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