LAHORE  -   The 20-member Gymkhana team managed to retain the much sought-after Lahore Cup glittering trophy after finishing first in the Inter-Club Golf Championship that concluded here at the Royal Palm Golf Course on Sunday.

The Inter-Club Golf trophy was introduced by Lt Gen (r) M Tariq, five years back. Gymkhana team surfaced as the champion in this team tourney held over three days, as the first day was hosted by Defence Raya Golf Course followed by another one at Gymkhana Golf Course and now the final one at Royal Palm Golf Course. Based on the aggregate scores of the first two matches held on Friday and Saturday, Gymkhana had accumulated 46.5 points while Royal Palm had 39.5 points in their tally and Defence Raya score was 34.5 points. 

The final 18 holes competition at Royal Palm golf course was crucial and at stake in the singles match play contest was a total of 60 points which means that the ultimate triumphant one could have been any of the three teams. As the match reached an exciting conclusion, Gymkhana team gathered 18.5 points, Royal Palm fetched 20 points and Defence Raya compiled 21.5 points.

For the Gymkhana Golf Team, the single handicappers were in their true elements and added value by playing like champions. Amir Mehmood was dominant and so were players like Farooq Khan, Taimur Shabbir, Waleed Zubair, Ahmed Zafar Hayat, Qasim Khan and Salman Jehangir. In the handicap category 10 to 16, Omer Zia stood out and was the only one who won two points yesterday, while Tariq Misbah brought in 1.5 points.  At the concluding ceremony, captain of host club team, Royal Palm, Abdullah Sharif awarded the glittering trophy to Gymkhana captain Omer Zia in the presence of Lahore Gymkhana Convener Golf Shaukat Javed, Royal Palm CEO Ramzan Sheikh, Director Parvez Qureshi, Lt Gen (r) M Tariq and the team members of all the teams.