The Royal Palm Team comprising Sardar Murad, Omer Salamat, Mohammed Rehman and Shoaib Bokhari showed ample determination and demonstrated immense golf playing ability to consolidate their position and appear as the best team at the end of two rounds in this 6th Aquafina Royal Palm Golf Team Championship at the challenging par 72 Royal Palm Golf Course.
Royal Palm team does occupy the top spot but they have a threat looming over their winning chances as the Karachi team looks equally good and is just one stroke in arrear and while Royal Palm team has an aggregate score of 459, Karachi team is placed at a score of 460.
For Royal Palm, Sardar Murad continues to be the star performer and fairly brilliant is his team mate Mohammed Rehman. Along with Omer Salamat’s contribution they have helped Royal Palm to remain in the forefront but on the final day responsibility is there to keep up the winning march, as Ali Hai of Karachi has declared that he is going to launch himself to produce a startling performance.
Mansoor Teli, a team mate of Ali Hai is certainly a capable golfer and is not at all unnerved by the challenge of the final day on Sunday. At the end of the second round Amir Mehmood the non playing captain of Royal Palm team got his team together for useful tips and strategising the playing plan for the final round.
In the individual gross competition another fearsome match is on and while Ali Hai is looking good at a two days aggregate gross score of 145, Sardar Murad is placed four strokes behind at 149. During the second round Ali Hai had three birdies on holes 3, 4 and 12, eleven regulation pars and somehow lost four strokes on holes 1, 6, 9 and 14. As against Ali Hai’s score Sardar Murad birdied three holes, parred eleven holes, but was unlucky on two holes, the 1st and 9th which he double bogied. Other contenders who deserve a mention here are Ghazanfar Mehmood and Mohammed Rehman bunched together at a two days gross aggregate score of 151, Mansoor Teli at 156, Mohsen Zafar, Omer Salamat, Omer Khokher and Asif Ahmed at 158.
The Challenge Shield competition concluded after 36 holes and brought winning glory for Hamid Sharif of Royal Palm. Over the two rounds Hamid Sharif has demonstrated his playing ability with a fantastic round of five under par net 67 on the first day and a workmanlike round of net 70 on the second day and a winning aggregate of 137. This is a great occasion for him and proves to be a reward for some devoted hard work over the past two years. Mohammed Hassan Saeed of Gymkhana came second.
The Ladies will enter the contest on Sunday and compete over 18 holes. At the conclusion of the championship the prize distribution will take place at 4.15 pm.
