The 2nd KPGA Soni Wali Ladies Golf Cup 2022, was held at the historic Peshawar Golf Course on 16th to 18th December. This Tournament owes its genesis to the visionary initiative taken by Dr Asma Afzal Shami in 2021 to honor lady icons of yesteryears namely, Soni Wali, the trail blazer of women’s golf in KPK and Ghazala Ansari, the first Pakistani lady to achieve H’cap 1.
This year’s event is the second in the series dedicated to honouring the memory of Soni Wali. Besides being the pioneer of ladies golf in KPK, she eventually became a role model for all lady golfers by winning the National Championship in 1976 and 1980. The driving force behind this Tournament has been her brother Mr Iqbal Wali, and her sister Rani Wali who, as a family, were also its sole financial sponsor.
The listing of ladies championships like Soni Wali Cup on WAGR has induced competitiveness and increased the field-size, as now more girls play to earn precious WAGR points. Hamna Amjad emerged as Gross winner in a nail-biting finish with a score of 216, while Parkha Ijaz got 2nd Gross with 219. Incidentally, Parkha had ended Day 1 with a dazzling 69, ie 3 under par. This dropped her handicap to scratch. Thus Parkha entered the final, third round with a 3 strokes advantage over Humna. However, with two bogies in the first nine holes and Humna’s spectacular eagle on the 6th hole, Parkha not only lost her advantage but now also trailed her rival by one stroke. At this stage, the contest between these two outstanding Scratch golfers, suddenly transformed into an intense battle of nerves that also demanded the very best of golfing skills. While both Parkha and Humna were evenly matched in their golfing skills, Humna won the contest due to her superiority in maintaining her focus and composure under pressure. This remarkable young lady registered a dream score of 216 over the 54 Hole three days event, which earned her the unique distinction of averaging a scratch 72 per day. This is a ‘proverbial first’ for Ladies Golf Tournaments. Rimsha Ijaz won 3rd Gross with a score of 234 , while Abiha Syed from KGC won 4th Gross with 237 strokes.
In Category B, Sara Amin won 1st Gross, Areeba Rizwan got 2nd Gross while 3rd Gross was won by Maliha Elahi. Category B Net winners were Sana Zeeshan 1st Net, Zarmina Khan 2 nd Net and Salza Shah 3rd Net. Similarly, in Category C, Meerab Rizwan won 1st Gross, Samina Ishtiaq 2nd Gross and Dr. Ghazala Shams secured 3 rd Gross. Sadia Askar from Mardan won 1st Net, Noor Us Sabah 2 nd Net and Rabia Rashid won 3 rd Net.
Dr. Fareeda Naseer, the senior most lady golfer from Peshawar demonstrated her knack for golf in Seniors Category by winning the Gross prize. In Junior Girls (under 14) Category, Zoha Zeehan and Zaina Zeeshan won 1st and 2nd positions respectively.
Summing up the performances, the top 3 players, Humna Amjad, Parkha Ijaz and Rimsha Ijaz belong to Peshawar, treading the path of Soni Wali. A special mention needs to be made of two, under 14 girls, ie Ramin Amin and Sara Amin, both also from Peshawar, who played 13 and 14 under over the course of the Tournament, dropping their H’caps in a short span of only 2 years from 36 to 10 and 14 respectively. It is worth mentioning that, both these young girls credited their excellent performance to the experience that they had gained from their recent participation in the 22nd Sarawak Premier International Junior Golf Championship held recently in Malaysia, organized by Dr. Asma Shami in her capacity as Patron of Ace Junior Golf League.
Air Commodore Shahid Waheed, was the Chief Guest at the flawlessly conducted Prize Distribution Ceremony. He complimented Dr Ghazala Shams and her Tournament Committee, comparing entirely of ladies, for planning and conducting this mega event in such an exemplary manner. He especially highly highlighted the role of the Chief Referee, Mrs Munazza Shaheen, for conducting this Championship strictly according to the Rules. She has recently added to her laurels by earning R&A Level 2 Certification with a distinction.
