At the sun-baked Karachi Golf Club on Saturday afternoon, a small group of spectators applauded as one of the pros made a birdie on the final hole. The Thai player acknowledged the applause, shook hands with his fellow players and walked away from the green. He was one of the five dozen foreign players participating in the UMA-CNS Open Asian Tour Golf Championship, one of the biggest sporting events to be held on Pakistani soil in recent years.

Seen as a breakthrough event for Pakistan golf, the US$300,000 UMA-CNS Open marks the country’s return on the Asian Tour for the first time in 11 years. From the people at the helm of the prestigious Karachi Golf Club to the event’s organisers Pakistan Navy and lead sponsors United Marine Agencies (UMA), everybody involved in the staging of the championship had to work day and night to make the event possible.

There certainly were many shortcomings but just the fact that an event of such magnitude could be held in the country is a big development not just for Pakistan golf but for the country’s sports.

"The Asian Tour is delighted to be back in Pakistan after a long gap," Cho Minn Thant, Chief Operating Officer of the Asian Tour told ‘The News on Sunday’. "Pakistan is an important country for us and we’ve been waiting for this to happen for a long time," he added.

Cho was in Pakistan for a few days to get the UMA-CNS Open started. He and other visiting players and officials were initially apprehensive at the prospect of travelling to Pakistan but once they were here their perception changed, entirely.

"You have to come here to see what Pakistan really is," he said. "The (Pakistani) people are great and the hospitality here is awesome. I can say for sure that the players are loving it," he said.

One such player is India’s Digvijay Singh. On his third visit to Pakistan, the Delhi-based professional is having a whale of a time in Pakistan. "I have waited for 11 long years to make this trip," said the 46-year-old, who last came to Pakistan in 2007 when KGC hosted an Asian Tour event.

On the first two days, Digvijay wasn’t really in his element and could have missed the cut. "I feared missing the cut mainly because that would have meant a shorter stay here," he told TNS, with a smile.

Bilal Rafi Muneer, the Club Captain, believes that it is a huge occasion for Pakistan’s golfing community.

"It’s really important for Pakistan golf to have events like this because they are going to raise its profile," he said. "To have so many foreign players competing here alongside our leading professionals is a big step forward and hopefully we are going to have more international events, even bigger than this one, in Pakistan in the coming years," added Bilal.

Bilal, together with Taimur Hasan, the former PGF secretary, conceived the idea of bringing the Asian Tour back to Pakistan.

"This tournament has given 70 of our professionals to play on a Tour that is worth 38 million dollars," said Taimur, a former national champion who is currently vice-chairman of Asia Pacific Golf Confederation. "It is a big opportunity for them."

But it seemed that many of the local professionals were intimidated by the challenge. Most of them failed to make the cut while others fell out of contention after the first two rounds. On the opening day two Pakistanis stood out - Pakistan No. 1 Shabbir Iqbal and national amateur champion Ahmad Baig. On the second day it was the steady Muhammad Munir, who kept Pakistan’s hopes alive. But by Saturday afternoon, it was quite clear that one of the members of the Thai brigade would walk away with the title.

Asad I.A Khan, President Sindh Golf Association (SGA), was one of the golf buffs who saw firsthand why the Thai players succeeded where others failed during the first two-and-a-half days of the championship.

"I feel Thailand has now become almost the cradle of golf. From a mere golf destination it has now become a nursery of golf. People went there just for fun golf. The credit also goes to Tiger Woods’ mother who must have inspired Thailand’s people as she hails from that country. It has given a real boost to their junior golf. The Thai players participating here are long hitters and are steadier than the others," Asad told TNS.

"Our players have been unable to impress much mainly because of their putting. They are average putters.

"The Indian players have shown this tendency to recover. They have improved with each passing day while ours have failed to do so," he said.

When the championship teed off on Thursday, hopes were high that a local golfer would finally win an Asian Tour event at home. That has never happened before. From what we had seen till Saturday afternoon, it was quite evident that a Pakistani triumph won’t happen this year either.

"It doesn’t matter," said Sohail Shams, CEO of UMA, the event’s title sponsors. "What matters most is that we are having an Asian Tour tournament in Pakistan. That is big news for our beloved country. I’m sure that things will keep getting better and sooner rather than later we would have a local winner in Asian Tour event here."