When it comes to Pakistan and sport, one would instantly mention cricket. Hockey and squash are other sports in which the sub-continental country has boasted world-class athletes.

Golf-wise, Pakistan are still among the minnows. However, a significant breakthrough was made by two Pakistani golfers on the Asian stage that could lead to world recognition.

Muhammad Shabbir and Muhammad Munir helped their country qualify for their first-ever Omega Mission Hills World Cup finals last weekend.

The duo finished third in the Asian qualifiers in Malayisa to join Singapore and the Philippines at the November finals in China.

Shabbir and Munir shot a combined three-under-par 68 in the final round foursomes for their total of 274.

Singapore’s Lam Chih Bing and Mardan Mamat, a European Tour winner, compiled 269 after a 72 on the last day, one stroke ahead of the Filipino twosome of Mars Pucay and Angelo Que.

The top three teams qualify for the finals from Asia, which means fourth-placed Malaysians Danny Chia and Iain Steel, who finished on 276, missed out.

It was an historic performance for the Pakistanis with Munir saying in an Asian Tour media release:

“Never before in our history have we been in golf’s World Cup. We showed that we are in there for the first time and hopefully we will be able to perform well in China. I don’t know how to describe how we feel right now. I’m sure everyone in Pakistan will be very happy.”

Five other Asian countries are among the 18 teams who qualified automatically for November 26-29 to be played on Mission Hills’ Olazabal Course.

They are India, Thailand, Japan, Chinese Taipei and South Korea. China qualify as hosts.

Sweden’s Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson won last year’s tournament ahead of Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal. The Japanese pair of Ryuji Imada and Toru Taniguchi were third.

There are certain holes in a golf course where you don’t even need a putter. At least that was the case in two holes for 64-year-old retiree Ruth Day.

Day had plenty of reasons to celebrate earlier this month at the Whitley Bay Golf Club in England, shooting two holes-in-one in a single round.

In what is estimated to be a 67 million-to-one chance, Day, a widow, aced the two par threes 10 holes apart.

The first was on the 149-yard third hole, in which the ball trickled into the hole for her, her playing partner and players from the flight ahead to see.

The second was on the 161-yard 13th, where Day and her friend went looking for her ball behind the green but then realised it was in the cup.

Day, who has been playing golf for 10 years, talked about her experience in the Club journal. AP quoted her as saying:

“A hole in one in itself is usually pretty amazing. But I couldn’t believe it when I did the same thing 10 holes further on. Some people go through their whole life and never get a hole-in-one. I think there are only a very small number of people around the world who have done it twice in one round.”

The feat is, indeed, rare, but the report cites another case in the United States in early September when Steve Blass, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, scored two aces during the team’s annual golf day.

Day is a retired British Gas showroom manager and her achievement is even more surprising given the fact that she has a relatively high handicap of 35.

In 1990, Ken Green was the star attraction at the Hong Kong Open golf tournament, which I covered as a reporter for the South China Morning Post newspaper.

From a strictly media-to-player point of view, I found Green slightly cocky and arrogant. He could afford to be. After all, he was the main drawcard, having won five times on the PGA Tour.

And, he went on to win the tournament in Hong Kong. As I said, I comment on his personality from the superficial perspective of a journalist, not all of whom endear themselves to high-profile athletes.

If, however, there is a hint of accuracy in my observations, then these qualities are just what he needs to overcome the biggest challenge of his life – returning to pro golf after losing those closest to him, and one of his legs.

On June 8, Green was in a car with his girlfriend, brother Billy, who was driving, and his dog Nip, travelling on the Interstate 20 in Mississippi. A tyre blew, the vehicle went off the road and it hit a tree.

Green was the sole survivor. Although he has no recollection of the accident, soon after regaining consciousness, he was already planning his golfing comeback to the Champions Tour.

The doctors told him that they would be able to save his leg but he would never regain the same functionality. Green told them to cut it off. He’d rather have no leg than a leg that would prevent him from playing golf.

Green told journalists this week that he has targeted a return to pro golf by, the latest, summer next season. AP quoted him as saying:

“July might be better. But I don’t know, I’ve never done this before. The question is, can I get back to the highest level? Our level and just golf are two different worlds.”

This is not the first trial Green has had to face. He has previously overcome depression, financial woes and back problems, though nothing compares to the tragic losses of life and limb he experienced in June.

His sister, Shelley, has been helping him in his recovery and professional golfers such as Fred Funk, Curtis Strange, Mark Calcavecchia and Phil Blackmar played in a charity event to help him pay for medical bills and expenses.

When he turned 50 last year, Green, who had not made any money as a pro the previous three years, was eligible for the Champions Tour. Before the accident, he was 54th on the money list and earned more than $120,000.

He is confident he can overcome the loss of his leg and play at the level needed to be competitive on the Champions Tour.

“When I was fighting through my depression, that, I believe was harder, because I didn’t know I was in it. Whereas this one, you know what you have to tackle. You have to get your leg, then you have to go change your swing, and then you have to go start playing like a pro again.

“Obviously, I lost three of my best friends and I think I’d be doing them a dishonour if I didn’t come back from this. Just because I lost a leg, you have to say, ‘OK, we’ll work around that’.”

Should Green succeed in his comeback, he will make history. And whatever anyone thinks of his personality, he will always be a champion, just like he was in Hong Kong 19 years ago.

The biggest stars of the PGA Tour were its biggest winners over the weekend.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson shared the honours after The Tour Championship in East Lake – Woods winning the FedEx Cup and Mickelson coming up trumps in the tournament itself.

Woods finished second to Mickelson in the tournament – three shots behind – but finished on top of the FedEx Cup standings to snare the $10 million prize that comes with it.

It was a reverse situation in the tournament with Mickelson shooting a five-under-par 65 in the final round for a total of nine-under 271. Woods was second on 274 after his closing 70, having led at the half-way stage.

Mickelson collected $1.35 million for winning the tournament in addition to £3 million for finishing second in the four-tournament FedEx Cup series.

The left-handed golfer, who had a difficult year personally when his wife and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer during the spring, joked about earning less money than Woods despite winning. He said:

“Let me see if I get this straight, I shot 65 and he shot 70, and he gets a check for $10 million … no, I’m just kidding. I didn’t play well in the first three events to give myself a chance.”

For Woods, the tournament was always more important than the overall series title. He figured the FedEx Cup would take care of itself if you put the numbers up. Said Woods:

“Phil played well. He did the things he needed to do this week. Unfortunately, I didn’t putt well, and consequently, I didn’t push him. Phil ran off and got away from us.”

In third place was Sean O’Hair, who finished with a 69 for 275 with two-time British Open champion Padraig Harrington and Kenny Perry sharing fourth place on 276.

Harrington, who has shown fine form in the latter half of the season, made 69 in his final round while Perry, who at one point appeared headed for both tournament and FedEx Cup win, settled for 74.

One-time series leader Steve Stricker was sixth on 277 while Jim Furyk and Steve Marino tied for seventh on 278. South African Ernie Els was ninth on 279.

Mickelson’s victory was reminiscent of his 2000 Tour Championship triumph when he also fought back in the final round to beat Woods.

After birdies on the third and fourth, he took a share of the lead on the eight with a tap-in birdie. A bogey-free round meant he was primed for victory. Woods’ only one-putt birdie was a 35-footer on the 16th.

Meanwhile, Great Britain and Ireland continued their domination of The Vivendi Trophy with Seve Ballesteros as they beat Continental Europe for their fifth straight victory in the Ryder Cup-style team event in Paris.

The British Isles won 16 ½ to 11 ½ — the third year in a row it finished with this score – with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy completing the victory when he beat world number five Henrik Stenson on the final green.

The Europeans, however, won the singles tussle 6-4 but it was not enough to prevent GB & Ireland from victory following their impressive performances over the first two days.

GB & Ireland were captained by Paul McGinley while Thomas Bjorn was in charge of the Continental Europeans.

The tournament is named after Spanish great Ballesteros, who is still recovering from multiple surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumour.

However, he did send a message to the players and congratulated the winners. He said on the European Tour’s website:

“I wish I could have been there today, at Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, but I don’t have enough strength at the moment as my radiotherapy treatment finished last week, and I am suffering its consequences. I have followed the matches on TV and I was very happy to see competitive golf and great champions trying their best.

“I want to thank The European Tour, and all the French fans that went to watch the competition. Finally I want to thank all the people that are supporting me and sending me many messages of support, these really help me to keep going.”

The global economic woes continue to bear down on golf but the sport appears to be riding out the storm better than most industries.

Certainly, golf has not been immune to the credit crunch with major automaker General Motors pulling out its key brand Buick from two big events. The company also ended an endorsement deal with world number one Tiger Woods, reported to be worth $8 million annually.

However, US PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said the sport was in reasonably good health, although he expects more sponsors to pull out next season. He was quoted in a Reuters article as saying:

“It’s possible we could lose a couple of events; it’s probable that we’re going to lose some sponsors. We will have a good solid schedule for 2010, we know that. But I think it’s also important to recognise that marketing budgets are still down … it’s certainly going to take a while to improve.”

The case of the Buick Open loss had a happy ending with the Greenbrier Classic replacing it as part of a six-year agreement.

In addition, Finchem reported that many sponsors had actually extended their contracts with various tournaments on the Tour, which is the richest and most prestigious professional circuit in the world.

With the United States showing an inkling of an economic recovery, he is confident that beyond next season, sponsors will start queuing up again.

The fact that golf still has money is reflected in the on-going FedEx Cup play-offs, which concludes this week.

The four-tournament series culminates with a payment of $10 million to the winner, with Woods the big favourite to nab the bonanza.

The European Tour also has a big-money, season-ending event – the Dubai World Championship, which initially offered a $20 million prize pool.

However, recent reports indicated that the sum was cut because of the recession.

He may not have won a major this season but Tiger Woods is still determined to go after the next best thing – victory at the Tour Championship and wrapping up the FedEx Cup series play-offs.

World number one Woods heads the FedEx Cup rankings ahead of the final tournament of the play-offs in Atlanta, where a 30-strong elite field will be vying for the US$10 million bonus bonanza.

Woods, having returned to the PGA Tour at the start of the year after an eight-month injury lay-off, has won six times this season though none of them at a major.

But, as reported in AP, Woods loves nothing more than beating a strong field on a tough course with plenty at stake. The East Lake course will provide that challenge, as he said:

“If you look at years past before we had this format, it was basically the hottest players for the year. This is a little bit different, though, because you actually get some of the hotter players later in the year. It adds for a little bit more excitement.

“You always have the same approach and same attitude that you try and win every tournament you enter. Whether it’s a regular tour event, a play-off event, World Golf Championship, Players, whatever it may be, it’s the same intensity.”

The format of the series means that any of the top five seeds going into the tournament will head the FedEx Cup standings if they win the event – Woods, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Heath Slocum.

Even Australian outsider Marc Leishman, who tied with Woods for second in Chicago recently, has a chance to win the series should Woods finish 10th or below and the next four seeds end up no better than fifth.

Another unlikely scenario for a Series winner is Padraig Harrington, who would need a major collapse by the leading players.

Unusually, there could even be two play-offs – one for the tournament and one of the series. Furthermore, the same two players could be involved.

But emerging from all the convoluted possibilities is the fact that Woods, once again, is the favourite.

Spain’s Rafael Cabrera Bello produced one of the most sizzling final rounds in European Tour history to win the Austrian Open near Vienna.

Cabrera Bello, eight shots behind the leaders after the third round, fired an 11-under-par 60 to storm up the leaderboard and edge England’s Benn Barham by a single stroke.

The first-time Tour winner ended up with a total of 20-under-par 264 while Denmark’s Soren Hansen was third on 267.

The 25-year-old could even afford to miss a 30-foot eagle attempt as he became the third player on the Tour to score 60 on the final day. He said on the European Tour website:

“It’s just amazing. I played the best golf of my life and I can’t believe it. I was so far back I wasn’t thinking about winning. I just tried to play a shot at a time and today it worked out really, really good.”

Bahram was three shots in the lead overnight but Cabrera Bello started chipping away from the third hole onwards, picking up three birdies and four more from the eighth to 11th.

The Spaniard collected further shots on the 13th, 14th and 16th at the Fontana Golf Club.

On the LPGA Tour, Choi Na-yeon, of South Korea, achieved her breakthrough title when she won the Samsung World Chmapionship at Torrey Pines.

After losing a seven-stroke lead, Choi held her nerve to birdie the final hole and hold off the strong challenge of Japanese ace Ai Miyazato, who found water on the last.

She finished with a total of 16-under-par 272 after carding one-under 71 while Miyazato settled for 273 after her 69, the lowest round of the day.

In third place was South Korean Shin Jiyai on 277.

Meanwhile, there was no tournament on the PGA Tour as players prepare for this week’s final event of the FedEx Series, the Tour Championship.

India hopes to do for golf what they have done for Twenty 20 cricket.

The sports-loving Indians may not have invented either game but they have provided the platform to enhance the spectacle thanks to their huge fan base.

For instance, T20 cricket, courtesy of the Indian Premier League, is a multi-million dollay industry in India where the world’s top players gather every season to play for regional teams around the country.

Now, a British amateur golfer and course designer, Peter McEvoy, is hoping the advent of PowerPlay Golf can have the same crowd-pulling effect on India’s golf fans as T20 has done for cricket.

At a press conference in Mumbai, McEvoy unveiled his plans for the game, which involves golfers playing over nine holes and having two flags to target, with bonus points and nett birdies on offer for those selecting the tougher black flags.

McEvoy, a former Walker Cup captain, said he was inspired by shortened versions of sports that have done well globally, such as T20 cricket, sevens rugby and five-a-side football. He said in an Indian online news portal:

“We realised the audiences were dropping steadily maybe because golf was taking too long. So we came up with a shorter and exciting format for golf too. We believe in the mantra that half the time, twice the excitement.”

The “PowerPlay” part is a term also borrowed from cricket. In cricket, powerplay is when a team chooses to bowl under certain fielding restrictions. In golf, each golfer has three powerplays within the first eight holes in which they must go for the more difficult hole.

PowerPlay Golf shares another aspect with T20 cricket in that both games originated in England.

According to the news report, the first game was played on February 6, 2007 by 16 British golf journalists at the Playgolf Northwick Park course in London.

Seven months later, Surrey 3-handicapper David Kemp won the first ever National championship at Hampton Court Palace Golf Club.

The sport has since been played in 140 courses in UK, 14 in Australia and 30 in South Africa. The first dedicated PowerPlay golf course is being built in East Kilbride, Scotland, says the report.

India will play its part in popularising the game with the Signature Club Golf Championship, involving more than 40 clubs all over the country. It tees off on September 26 and ends on December 14.

His best may have come too late for the season’s majors but there is always next year.

Tiger Woods declared boldly that he his back to his best after a storming victory at the BMW Championship that returned him to the top of the FedEx Cup standings.

Woods, who left the PGA Tour last year for eight months to recover from knee surgery, dominated the field to win by eight strokes and capture his 71st tour title.

The world number one failed to add to his collection of 14 major titles in 2009 as he chases Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18.

However, with his sixth victory of the season, Woods reckons he is now on top of his game and has solved the putting problems that blighted his chances at the four majors. He said in a CNN article:

“It’s one of my best years, there’s no doubt about that – I haven’t won as many times as I did in 2000 and didn’t win any majors this year, but certainly I’ve never had a year where I’ve been this consistent either, this many high finishes and the number of events I’ve played.”

Woods, who shot a course record 62 at Cog Hill in the third round, closed with a 68 for a total of 19-under-par 265 and his fifth victory in the event. That was eight strokes better than Jim Furyk and Australian Marc Leishman.

He agreed that putting was the key to his victory.

“It’s just been a matter of making a couple putts here and there and I would have won the tournaments. That’s all the difference was. And lo and behold, boom, I hit the ball just as well, just as consistent this week, and I made a few putts, and that’s how it happens.”

Furyk is third on the FedEx Cup standings behind Steve Stricker with Zach Johnson fourth and Heath Slocum fifth.

Woods and company now head for the season-ending Tour Championship that could seal his victory in the FedEx Cup.

On the European Tour, 43-year-old South African James Kingston beat Denmark’s Anders Hansen in a play-off to win the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Cologne.

Kingston closed with three-under 69 and Hansen fired 67 as both players finished on 13-under 275 for the tournament.

The veteran then sank a four-foot putt on the first sudden-death play-off hole as Hansen missed a six-footer.

Kingston is now the oldest Tour winner this season and jumps into the top 50 of the Race to Dubai contest. It was also his second career win on the circuit after his South African Open triumph in 2008.

England’s Simon Dyson, Denmark’s Soren Hansen and Peter Hanson, of Sweden, were tied for third on 276.

Almost 50 years ago, Arnold Palmer undertook a journey that would change the face of professional golf.

He blazed a trail that would open up untold opportunities for professional golfers to make the kind of millions that they earn in modern times.

In doing so, he became golf’s first megastar. This week, Palmer celebrated his 80th birthday and tributes poured in from all around the world.

It all started when he met college buddy Mark McCormack for the first time.

McCormack, a legend in his own right, became golf’s first true agent and he helped Palmer exploit his huge name through endorsements and sponsorships.

In his first year, Palmer’s endorsement earnings went from $6,000 to $500,000. And all because of a handshake deal with McCormack, the founder of IMG – International Management Group that now serves thousands of professional golfers, other athletes and entertainment stars around the world, including Tiger Woods.

IMG also had golfers such as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player – two giants of the game. Woods, Nicklaus and Player were among those who gave their best wishes to the man known as “The King” who has ruled the roost on all four major tournaments in his total collection of seven titles.

World number one Woods led the way, as Reuters quoted him as saying:

“With his charisma, with his personality in conjunction with TV, it was just the perfect symbiotic growth. You finally have someone who has this charisma and they’re capturing it on TV for the very first time. Everyone got hooked to the game of golf via TV because of Arnold.”

Nicklaus eventually became one of Palmer’s main rivals on the PGA Tour, going on to win a record 18 majors. Writing on his website, he said:

“Arnold became a friend to me when I first came on tour. We became very close and our wives became very close. We played a lot of team championships together and we had a lot of fun. Through those years, yes, we had a rivalry but we never had a rivalry when we were off the golf course.”

South African Player, who is 74 and won nine major tournaments said one of Palmer’s best legacies was the positive impression he left on younger players and fans, for whom he would always sign autographs. He said:

“He’s been a wonderful role model to young people and to everybody for that matter, not only in the United States but in the entire world. He’s been a great ambassador.”

In recognition of his achievements, the US Senate agreed to award Palmer with the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his service to America through golf.

According to reports, in true Palmer style, he celebrated his birthday on September 10 playing a round with friends.

Steve Stricker’s victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship means he is now the leading challenger to Tiger Woods’ number one world ranking.

Stricker moved past Phil Mickelson to occupy number two in the world and, though he is still some way off Woods, he at least can boast of FedEx Cup bragging rights … at least for now.

With two more play-off events remaining, Stricker leads the FedEx standings with 5,605 points with Woods on 4,696 points.

There is now talk that Stricker could even be in line for Player of the Year honours if he keep Woods at bay and wins the FedEx Cup.

Though Woods has failed to win any majors this season, he leads the money list by more than $2 million after five tournament victories and is also a favourite for the Player title.

However, Stricker wants to first concentrate on the FedEx Cup and this week’s BMW Championship. He said in an AP article:

“Whoever is going to win this, whether it be him (Woods) or me or anybody else, you’re going to have to play some pretty good golf for two more events. And it’s going to lead to a lot of excitement.”

Woods knows that the final events of the season are crucial to Player of the Year chances because those are still fresh in the minds of those who vote – the pros themselves. He said:

“Playing well at the end of the year in the big events … it can swing votes, because usually guys remember what you’ve done later in the year. There have been guys that have won three or four tournaments, but they were all at the beginning of the year. Somebody does it all late in the year, then people remember those.”

Should Woods be voted 2009 Player of the Year, it would be his second award during a season in which he has not won a major. The last one was in 2003.

Other non-major winners are Wayne Levi, in 1990, Greg Norman, who topped the votes in 1995.

The second man who ever walked on the lunar surface may have been in the galleries but it was Sweden’s Alexander Noren who was over the moon at the Omega European Masters in Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

Noren, being watched by former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin, shot a five-under-par 66 in the final round for total of 20-under 264 to claim his maiden victory on the European Tour.

Aided by eagle on the 15th hole from a bunker shot, Noren was able to hold off 2006 winner Bradley Dredge, of Wales, by two strokes. Dredge shot 65 in his closing round, the same as England’s Ross McGowan, who finished third on 267.

It was a good tournament for Asian players with Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee finishing fifth on 270, one stroke behind Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez while Filipino Angel Que was tied for seventh on 272 with Simon Dyson, David Howell and Rory McIlroy.

The tournament was also the first qualifier for next year’s Ryder Cup and Noren’s victory put him in first place. He said on the European Tour website:

“I was so happy when that bunker shot went in. I’ve never felt this good about my game, and to win was just brilliant. (As for the Ryder Cup race), I will just have to stay there!”

On the LPGA Tour, Norway’s Suzann Pettersen won her first tournament in two years when she swept to a convincing victory at the Canadian Open in Calgary.

Pettersen closed with a one-under 70 for a total of 15-under 269 and a five-stroke victory over a group of five rivals – Momoko Ueda, Morgan Pressel, Ai Miyazato, Angela Standford and Karrie Webb.

Since her last victory on the Tour in October 2007, Pettersen had gone more than 40 tournaments without winning, notching up six runner-up places. This included a play-off loss at last week’s event in Portland.

Meanwhile, three players were tied for the lead after the third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston.

South African Retief Goosen and Americans Steve Stricker and Sean O’Hair were on 13-under-par 200 with one round remaining to play of the US PGA Tour event.

Goosen shot three-under 68 and O’Hair managed 70 but the round of the day belonged to Stricker, who carded six-under-par 65 to take a share of the lead.

However, there are plenty of challengers ready to take them on in the final round with nine golfers within three shots of the leaders.

Leading the chase are two-time British Open winner Padraig Harrington, of Ireland, Scott Verplank and Kevin Na, all three on 201.

Harrington put himself in contention with a third round of 67 while Na had 66 and Verplank shot 68.

Jerry Kelly and Kevin Sutherland were on 202 while Jason Dufner, John Senden, Dustin Johnson and Jim Furyk were bunched together at 203 for a share of ninth.

World number one Tiger Woods and FedEx Cup leader was a distant nine strokes behind on 209 after his third round of 72.

The top 70 players from this tournament go on to the next event in the FedEx Cup series, which is this week’s BMW Championship in Lemont, Illinois.

Ernie Els has been known as a golfer who would go to all corners of the globe to help promote the game.

Not always was it to the benefit of his game. But even in the midst of a “three-year comeback” bid, the South African former British Open champion still finds time for Asia.

Els and Irish star Padraig Harrington have signed up to return to the Barclays Singapore Open, being held from October 29 to November 1 at the Serapong Course on Sentosa Island.

Recently, even Tiger Woods said that Els could have managed his comeback a bit better.

Almost three years ago, Els hatched a plan to return to the top of men’s golf. The idea was to be among the world’s leading players around this time.

Clearly, it has not gone exactly to plan. But he has showed in recent events that he has made progress and could, indeed, restore his A game in the near future.

Whatever his form, Asian fans adore him. Els and Harrington missed birdie putts on the final hole of last year’s Singapore Open that, had they sunk, would have forced a play-off with eventual winner Jeev Milkha Singh, of India.

Els also finished second in 2006, losing out to Australia’s Adam Scott in a three-hole play-off.

So, even though he will be thousands of miles from the US PGA Tour, Els has a history of doing well in Singapore. With his comeback plans still very much alive, victory in Singapore would do wonders for his confidence.

Also taking part are South Korean KJ Choi and Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke. The Singapore event boasts prize money of US$5 million, making it the richest on the Asia Tour.

The tournament also received a further boost recently when it became part of the European Tour as well.

The 156-player field will comprise 65 players each from the Asian and European Tours along with 10 qualifying spots and nine invitations for four amateurs and three Singapore pros.

When it comes to Pakistan and sport, one would instantly mention cricket. Hockey and squash are other codes in which the sub-continental country has boasted world-class athletes.

Golf-wise, Pakistan are still among the minnows. However, a significant breakthrough was made by two Pakistani golfers on the Asian stage that could lead to world recognition.

Muhammad Shabbir and Muhammad Munir helped their country qualify for their first-ever Omega Mission Hills World Cup finals last weekend.

The duo finished third in the Asian qualifiers in Malayisa to join Singapore and the Philippines at the November finals in China.

Shabbir and Munir shot a combined three-under-par 68 in the final round foursomes for their total of 274.

Singapore’s Lam Chih Bing and Mardan Mamat, a European Tour winner, compiled 269 after a 72 on the last day, one stroke ahead of the Filipino twosome of Mars Pucay and Angelo Que.

The top three teams qualify for the finals from Asia, which means fourth-placed Malaysians Danny Chia and Iain Steel, who finished on 276, missed out.

It was an historic performance for the Pakistanis with Munir saying in an Asian Tour media release:

“Never before in our history have we been in golf’s World Cup. We showed that we are in there for the first time and hopefully we will be able to perform well in China. I don’t know how to describe how we feel right now. I’m sure everyone in Pakistan will be very happy.”

Five other Asian countries are among the 18 teams who qualified automatically for November 26-29 to be played on Mission Hills’ Olazabal Course.

They are India, Thailand, Japan, Chinese Taipei and South Korea. China qualify as hosts.

Sweden’s Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson won last year’s tournament ahead of Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal. The Japanese pair of Ryuji Imada and Toru Taniguchi were third.

Heath Slocum nailed a 21-foot pressure putt on the 18th to emerge from a list of golfing luminaries led by Tiger Woods and win The Barclays tournament by a single stroke.

Slocum barely qualified to compete in the FedEx Play-offs and the last thing he expected was to be fighting on the final day of the series’ first tournament in New Jersey for the title.

But now he finds himself catapulted from 124 to number three in the FedEx Cup standings and is in with a chance to grab the grand prize of US$10 million.

Slocum shot four-under-par 67 on Sunday for a total of nine-under 275. Tied for second were some of the biggest names in golf – Woods, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker.

Woods and Harrington also closed with 67 while Els fired 66 and Stricker carded a 69. Woods leads the series ahead of Stricker and Slocum.

Slocum only knew he would be in the play-offs last week when he finished 124 in the standings to make the final 125.

Now, he has his biggest pay-cheque ever, $1.35 million and his third PGA Tour title. He said in an AP article:

“It was an incredible day, incredible experience. I was just kind of lucky to come out on top. A lot of good players. At the end of the day, that putt on the last was magical. I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.”

Woods had previously missed a seven-foot putt on the 18th, continuing his dodgy putting form that extends from the US PGA Championship a fortnight ago when he finished second to South Korean Yang Young-eun.

For Els and Harrington, their top five positions provide another indication that they are returning to form.

Harrington had a tough time of it earlier this year but the 2008 British Open and US PGA Championship winner has shown championship-winning form recently.

Els, a former Open winner, has had an even longer period in the wilderness but said after his performance that his confidence is returning and he is ready to challenge in the big events.

There are three more tournaments in the play-offs, starting with this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship, followed by the BMW Championship and, after a one-week break, The Tour Championship.

In Perthshire, Scotland, Peter Hedblom won his first tournament for two years when he captured the Johnnie Walker Championship on the European Tour.

The Swede carded a five-under-par 67 at the Gleneagles course for a total of 13-under-par 275 for a one-stroke victory over compatriot Martin Erlandsson, who set a course record with 62.

France’s Gregory Havret, who shot 67, and Scotland’s Paul Lawrie (69) were tied for third at 278 while another Scot, Gary Orr, was alone on fifth with 279.

Hedblom’s victory, his third on the Tour, makes up slightly for his missed chance at last week’s KLM Open when he was beaten in a play-off by Simon Dyson.

But he needed to be at his best with Erlandsson shooting 10 birdies to hold the lead at one point. Hedblom responded with four consecutive birdies of his own to put his nose in front and keep it there.

His last title was at the 2007 Malaysian Open.