Islamabad – Pakistan has produced a rising star in the golf world, Omar Khalid Hussain, who became the first Pakistani to win a professional golf title on American soil when he won the Fendrich Open trophy.
This tournament was held in Evansville, Indiana, USA, and had a purse of 18,700 dollars as the prize. Omar, the only Pakistani to play in NCAA Division 1, the most prestigious collegiate sports in the USA, beat a long list of professionals by recording spectacular scores of 61 and 65.
He narrowly beat experienced American pro Zach Williams of Illinois, with a one-stroke margin, with a 36-hole total of 126 (-14) at the par-70 Fendrich Golf Course.
In the opening round on Saturday, Omar had eight birdies and an eagle to open the leaderboard with a glorious score of 9-under-par 61. He began with a bogey on the first hole in the last round on Sunday but soon came out of it with six birdies just to win him the title with a 65.
Omar, who at 16 became the youngest winner of the Pakistan Amateur, is currently the first Pakistani player to win a professional golf tournament in the US.
Omar, who is now a University of Evansville player, won the Faldo Series Pakistan by a record margin of 40 strokes in 2021, winning the Pakistan Amateur in 2020 and becoming the first player to set a 40-stroke margin. In 1995, he was the first Pakistani to qualify in any tournament conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), which he did at the most prestigious tourism golfing event in the US, the United States Junior Golf Championship, at the famous Bandon Dunes Golf Club, in Bandon, Oregon. In 2024, he also made a fourth-place finish at the Qatar Open in Doha.
He has played at the Asian Games, Asia Pacific golf championship, and the world championship, and has also played at the British Amateur, Scottish Open, St Andrews Open.
In the future, Omar is looking at a position on the elite PGA Tour. He said, “I’m happy with the way my game is progressing and will continue working hard to achieve my dream, which is to play and win on the PGA Tour someday.”
