Zohaib Asif and Sohail Rana reign supreme in SGA Cup Golf

KARACHI: Zohaib Asif and Sohail K. Rana claimed the amateurs and seniors titles of the 7th SGA Cup golf tournament here on Sunday at the picturesque Defence Authority Country and Golf Club (DACGC) respectively.

While Zohaib literally walked away with the amateurs’ crown, Rana was involved in a close battle for supremacy in the seniors’ contest, eventually beating Asad I.A Khan by two strokes.

Zohaib, the defending champion who began the final round of the two-day amateurs event with a four-shot advantage, extended his lead against chief rival Waseem Rana by making four consecutive birdies on 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th holes. He made another birdie and a spectacular eagle on the par-5 15th hole to retain the prestigious crown. His margin of victory was stunning as Zohaib finished with an aggregate of 7-under 137 after following up his first round card of 69 with 68 on the final day. He won the event by 11 strokes with Waseem Rana, the runner-up, finishing with an aggregate of 4-over 148. Captain Ansar Mehmood (151) finished third. Qazi Amir Hussain claimed top honours in the net category followed by Hassan Akram and Cmdr Khalid Amin.

In the seniors’ category, the long-hitting Sohail Rana once again established his status as the premier senior golfer of the province by regaining the title. He finished with an aggregate of 158, two strokes ahead of Asad I.A Khan. Captain Azhar Iqbal finished third. Col Ansar Iqbal Zafar won in the net category ahead of Gohar Manzoor and Col Ahmed Khan Baloch.

In the Juniors’ (Under-18) category, Junaid Irfan reigned supreme with a score of 75. He was followed by Huzaifa Aslam and Asad Ali Khan. The net winner was Danyal Jameel.

Hamza Shikoh claimed the Juniors’ Under-16 title with a score 84. He was followed by Ali Mehmood, Hamza Kahlon and Hassan Gheewala.

Anya Farooq (76) claimed top honours in the ladies event ahead of Naghmana Atif (86). Humair Khalid won the net title with a score 68 ahead of Maha Adnan (69).

In the veterans’ category, Wing Commander Aftab A Khan won the gross title with a score of 41 ahead of his namesake Group captain Aftab A Khan. Other prize winners were Jaleel Anwar and Syed Murtaza Askari.

The chief guest at a well-attended prize distribution ceremony was Hussain Abdullah Haroon, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the UN. Haroon delivered an eloquent speech reminiscing about his golfing experiences. Present at the occasion were former Pakistan Test captain Zaheer Abbas, Secretary DACGC Brig Tariq Rafiq, President SGA Asad I.A Khan and secretary Ashraf Khan Ghori.