LAHORE   -  The 10th edition of the JA Za­man Memorial Open Golf Cham­pionship, a prestigious event featuring eight diverse golfing categories, commenced with much fanfare at the Lahore Gym­khana Golf Course on Friday. The championship began with the women’s segment, where the nation’s top female golfers dis­played remarkable skill and de­termination. Leading the charge in the A Category was Parkha Ijaz from Defence Raya Golf Club, who emerged as the frontrunner with an impressive gross score of 75 over the first 18 holes. Ijaz’s exceptional performance not only placed her at the top of the leaderboard but also set a high standard for the competition to follow. Close on her heels was Rimsha Ijaz, also from Defence Raya Golf Club, who ended the day with a gross score of 77, just two strokes behind Parkha. Tied with Rimsha for second place was the promising young talent, Bushra Fatima of Lahore Gar­rison Greens, showcasing the depth of talent in the national golfing scene. Other notable performers included Ana James Gill of Royal Palm and Humna Amjad of PGC, who finished the day with scores of 82 and 84, respectively. The highlight of the day was, Aleesa Rashid, a 14 year old handicap 24 & Adina Attaullah, 15 year old, handicap 23 volunteered to play in cat­egory A, 54 Holes, a distance of 6200 per round, aspiring to earn points on International World Amateur Golf Ranking system. Their respective scores were 76 & 81 Net. They are both mem­bers of Ace Junior Golf League. In the Category B competition for women, Arooj Kanwal of Defence Raya clinched the top spot with a net score of 70, leading her competitors by a narrow margin. Shahzadi Gulfam of Lahore Gar­rison followed closely with a net score of 71, while Ayesha Moaz­zam of Gymkhana and Shabana Waheed, also of Lahore Garrison, both secured a net score of 75. The senior amateurs are set to join the fray on Saturday, bring­ing their wealth of experience and skill to the championship.