Sindh Open Golf tees off today without top duo

KARACHI: The silver jubilee edition of the Sindh Open Golf Championship will tee off here at the Defence Authority Country and Golf Club from Friday (today) without two of the country’s top golfers -- Shabbir Iqbal and Ahmad Baig.

Both Shabbir and Ahmad, whose names were missing from the draws of the event released by the organisers on Thursday evening, have decided to skip the event apparently because of its relatively low prize purse of Rs3.5 million.

Having failed to rope in any sponsors for the championship, the Sindh Golf Association (SGA) is hosting the event at its own expense and hence was unable to offer a prize basket lucrative enough to attract the likes of Shabbir, the reigning Pakistan No.1.

Shabbir, a former Sindh Open champion, is Pakistan’s most successful professional by a mile. Earlier this season, he won the Chairman JCSC Golf Championship with an enviable ease at the Karachi Golf Club.

The event offered a prize purse of Rs12 million. The city’s golf buffs will miss his presence in the Sindh Open and also that of Ahmad Baig’s whom many see as Shabbir’s heir apparent.

Despite the absence of the ace duo, the Sindh Open is likely to witness a tough battle for supremacy with Karachi’s Muhammad Ashfaque hoping to defend the coveted title. He is expected to face tough competition from the likes of Matloob Ahmed, Muhammad Munir, Hamza Amin and Waheed Baloch during the 54-hole championship which will be played at the DACGC for the first time in its 25-year history.

The Sindh Open previously had a permanent home at Arabian Sea Country Club but the once sprawling course on the outskirts of Karachi has now been reduced to a shambles forcing the SGA to first move the event to the Airmen Golf Club before bringing it to DACGC this year.