Faldo Series Pakistan Championship Contestants Reach for the Skies

Karachi, Pakistan (December 30): Contestants will be aiming to fly high when the 11th edition of the Faldo Series Pakistan Championship tees-off tomorrow. 

More than 40 of Pakistan’s brightest male and female golfing prospects will be gunning glory at the Airmen Golf & Country Club, a leisure facility spread over 180 acres of Karachi’s pristine mangroves, and well known for its embodiment of serenity and luxury. 

Conceived in 2003 and located at the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) base at Korangi Creek, the golf facility is the contribution of the PAF to the city of Karachi. 

Six-time Major champion Sir Nick Faldo praised the Pakistan Golf Federation for its efforts to promote the game and for proceeding with the R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) event, which has attracted entries from across the country. 

“Because of the pandemic, playing opportunities for junior golfers have been limited these past two years. I’m grateful, therefore, to all those involved in ensuring the Faldo Series Pakistan Championship is able to go ahead,” said Sir Nick, Founder of the Faldo Series. 

Having staged the 10th edition of the Faldo Series Pakistan Championship in November 2020, this week’s 54-hole event that spans the New Year period, is categorised as the opening leg of the 2021-22 Faldo Series Asia season. 

Age group winners from this week’s event will qualify for the 2021-22 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, which is tentatively scheduled to be held at Vietnam’s Laguna Lăng Cô late next year. 

Among the favourites at Airmen Golf & Country Club will be Syed Yashal Shah, winner of the Under-16 and overall titles last year. In 2021, he’s added further successes at the CNS Open Championship and Sindh Amateur Championship. A seventh-place finish in last month’s Pakistan National Amateur Championship has seen him rise to 1,659th in the WAGR, putting him fourth among Pakistani males. 

The Faldo Series Asia is supported by The R&A and endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation. 

As well as a series of qualifiers in Thailand, events in 2020-21 have taken place or are planned in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam over the next few months, subject to prevailing conditions and circumstances.  

Recognised as the only global amateur series for boys and girls, the Faldo Series was established in 1996, expanding to Asia in 2006.   Today, 40 Faldo Series tournaments take place in 30-plus countries worldwide, touching more than 4,000 golfers each year. Past champions include Tseng Ya-ni and Rory McIlroy, both multiple Major winners, while recent LPGA Tour winners include Thidapa Suwannapura (2010 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final Girls’ champion) and Nasa Hataoka (2016 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final Girls’ champion).