LAHORE - Lahore Gymkhana Golf Club Convener Agha Ali Imam has said that the inaugural JA Zaman Memorial Open Golf Championship will be held at the gymkhana course from February 27 to March 2.
The event will be held in collaboration with the Leisure Club. Speaking at the press conference here on Thursday, Agha Imam, along with Begum JA Zaman, Hamid Zaman, captain golf Sardar Murad and director media of the tournament Kh Pervaiz Saeed, said that the championship was a wonderful addition to the golf calendar and represented a lucrative source of livelihood for the golf professionals of the country.
He further said that during his lifetime, JA Zaman was regarded as a supporter of sports activity and he was associated with golf at Lahore Gymkhana for over 55 plus years of his 97 years of life. He was known as a philanthropist, a successful entrepreneur, a much loved family man, a man loaded with nobility, a guide to all he came across either as fellow members or golfers and responded with passion to the needs of the less privileged ones.
Kh Pervaiz said that the positive aspect championship was that the top golf professionals of the country were eligible to participate in it. “It is quite natural that all players who matter on the golf circuit of Pakistan have converged to Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course.”
Hamid Zaman, son of JA Zaman, highlighted that as sponsors Leisure Club, the parent company initiated by late JA Zaman, had offered complete financial support towards holding of this event in a befitting way.
Captain golf Sardar Murad emphasised that for the professional golf players of Pakistan, ample were the cash prizes for the top performers, besides non cash awards for the participating amateurs. “The prize money is one million rupees to be distributed amongst forty top position holders,” he added. “The Senior Golf Professionals event will also be held which has age eligibility of 50 years and above. Most of the senior professionals taking part in this event are players who have performed at the national level during their youthful days. The prize money allocated for them is Rs 100,000,” he concluded.