The 29th Millat Governors Cup Golf Tournament to be contested over three rounds will commence at the historic par 72,Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course on Friday,16th November.
This was stated by Maj(r)Javed Nasrullah,Convenor Golf of Gymkhana in a press conference at Gymkhana Golf Club yesterday.Also present on the occasion were Shahid Gul Qureshi,Captain Golf,Ahsan Imran,CEO,Millat Tractors and Khawaja Pervaiz Saeed,Director Media of the champyonship and Tariq Malik,Tournament Director.Khawaja Pervaiz explained that weather and playing conditions at the golf course are extremely conducive for competitive golf and this championship provides the aspiring amateur golfers of the country a chance to demonstrate their golfing skills and achieve success in this prestigious Governor’s Cup Golf Tournament and thereby get noticed as golfers of substance.
And though only one competitor is going to be the champion,others who miss out by the barest of margins can prove that they are worthy of recognition at the national level.He further said that over 120 plus golfers from leading golf centers like Karachi, Multan, Sargodha, Okara, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Wah, Swat and Peshawar have converged to Lahore to compete in this grand event.
Khawaja Pervaiz further stated that this championship is now into the 29th year. As for Millat Tractors, they have been sponsoring this event for 19 years in succession. For this, Gymkhana owes a debt of gratitude to Sikandar Mustafa Khan who is a very keen golfer and as Chairman of Millat Group of Companies has made sure that the relationship continues without break.
The events to be contested in this championship are net and gross events for Amateurs which will be held over 3 rounds (totally 54 holes, with 18 holes each day) from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th November 2012. Eligibility requirements are that participating golfers should have a handicap of 12 & below.There is also Net & Gross for Juniors in the age bracket 10-12 years & 13-17 years. The Juniors in the age bracket 10-12 years will compete over 4 holes on 17 November 2012 and those in the age bracket 13-17 years will compete over 18 holes on the same day.
Eligibility requirements are that in the age bracket 10-12 years juniors should have handicap of 36 & below and in the age bracket 13-17 years handicap should be 18 & below. Net & Gross events for Seniors (55 Years & above) will be held over 18 holes on Saturday 17th November 2012. Eligibility requirements are that participating Senior golfers should have a handicap of 16 & below.Net & Gross events for Veterans (70 Years & above) will be held over 9 holes on Friday 16th November 2012. Eligibility requirements are that participating Veteran golfers should have a handicap of 18 & below and will enjoy 1 extra stroke for every 2 years of age.
The ladies are also competing foe honors in the ladies section. Net & Gross events for Ladies will be held over 2 Rounds (36 holes, 18 holes each day) from Saturday 17th to Sunday 18th November 2012. Eligibility requirements are that participating lady golfers should have a handicap of 36 & below.
The girls also get a chance and Net & Gross for Girls in the 12-15 years age bracket,will be held over nine holes on 17th November 2012. It was further explained that in golf, attaining a handicap of 3 & below is considered an honour and an achievement. Quite a few of such talented golfers are taking part in this event are:-
a. Mr. Ghazanfar Mahmood – 0 Rawalpindi
b. Mr. Ahmad Zafar – 2 Gymkhana
c. Mr. Zulfiqar Ali – 2 Multan
d. Mr. Muhammad Rehman – 2 Royal Palm
e. Mr. Murad A. Khan – 3 Gymkhana
f. Mr. Salman Jehangir – 3 Gymkhana
g. Mr. Imran Ahmed – 3 Gymkhana
h. Mr. Khalid Mehmood – 3 Rawalpindi
i. Mr. Idrees Tinkoo – 3 Rawalpindi
j. Mr. Taimoor Khan – 3 Peshawar
Other strong contenders are Kh.Imran Zubair,Mohsen Zafar,Sardar Murad,Mir Maaz,Akbar Qayum,Robin Bagh,Amer Mehmood,Mohsin Anwer,Shoaib Bokhari,Mahd Zafar,Danish Javed,Hashim Butt,Faisal Sayid and Dr Dildar Hussain.
The main trophy is on best net score and the defending Champion is Major Malik Asad Zia. Other winners of the past decade are Sardar Muhammad Ahmad Leghari (2010), Mr. Mohammad Nasir Irshad (2009), Mr. Mohsen Zafar (2008), Mr. Waleed Zubair (2007), Dr Zahid A Khan (2006), Mr Muhammad Hashim (2005), Mr. Tashfeen Ashraf (2004), Mr. Shoaib S Bokhari (2003), Mr. Omer Azim (2002), Mr. Mohammad Safdar (2001).
