After the completion of the first round in this four rounds Pakistan Open Golf Championship 2019 being held under the umbrella of Pakistan Golf Federation along with Asian Development Tour, in progress in Lahore ,and participated by 113 aspirants for the national golf title including 81 leading Pakistani Golf Professionals ,21 foreign players from 10 countries ,five amateurs and six invitees,it was Johyung Kim of Korea and Nari Gamma of Japan who played an amazing and inspiring first round of gross 66,six under par,to set the pace in this title bearing event .
In the face of intense challenge offered by 111 other ambitious hopefuls,these highly skilled young ones of Asia were right on target from the word go and through accurate hitting from the tees and perfection loaded fairway shots ,they gave an indication of their intention to appear as relentless ones of this international golf event in Lahore ,on a golf course that looks superb in terms of undulations ,trimmed fairways and speedy greens.Two strokes behind the leaders is Oscar Zattarwali of Sweden.He is another champion who showed ample control and command in the first eighteen holes and except for one blemish ,he was elegant and outstanding on the run of play and his effort fetched him a round of gross 68,four under par.
The leaders of the first round may be satisfied with their own effort but from the competitive angle their nearest challengers are six Pakistani golf professionals, namely, M.Nazir ,his brother M.Munir,Moazzam Siddique ,Amjad Yousaf,Zohaib Asif and the seasoned one, Shahid Javed Khan. These enthusiastic and reassured champions of the national golf scene reflected remarkable control over execution of their long drives and backed this up with splendid putting on the greens, and this phenomenal effort helped them to compile a score of gross 69, three under par. Also placed at the score of 69, is Sam Gills of USA.These six Pakistanis have a task ahead of them in the remaining three rounds and if they can keep their nerves intact, they just might prevail over their international adversaries, who seek to win good prize money in this championship. Not to hesitate in saying that these contenders of Pakistan are solid as far as golfing abilities go.
Six more competitors who are looking good are Jesse Yap (Singapore), Hyuchul Shin(Korea), Choo Tze Huang(Singapore), Koh Deng Shan(Singapore) and two Pakistanis, Hamza Amin and M.Shahzad. They are bracketed at a score of gross 70, two under par.
The scoring technology in this championship has been provided by Gem Golfers and scores are available live as the championship activity progresses.
It was a wonderful day at the Raya Golf Course as golfers of strength, talent and dexterity showed their excellence in application of golfing skills.