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Tribute to Arif Peera

The 8th Playing of

HAIDER CUP

Whistler - 2008

2008 Home

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Organizing Comm.

USA versus CANADA

Charity Golf Tournament

Whistler 2008

USA Defeats Canada 47 - 21

The 8th playing of The Haider Cup took place in Vancouver / Whistler, British Columbia from June 28th to 30th, 2008. The weather could not have been better, with blue skies and temperatures averaging 30C - 32C. A total field of 68 players representing the US and Canadian teams, were ready for 3 rounds of golf to decide who will have bragging rights for the next year, while at the same time playing golf at one of North America's finest golf resorts. Most of the golfers stayed together at the Hilton Whistler Resort in the heart of the Whistler Village. This is a beautiful 4 Diamond property that was centrally located and was walking distance to the Whistler Golf Course.

The Canadians and Americans met at the Big Sky Golf & Country Club for the Opening Ceremonies and Dinner on June 27th. This was a festive evening that allowed all of the players to meet together after being apart for a year. This was also the time that all players united to remember Marhum Arif Peera, the founder of Haider Cup. Welcome gifts were presented to all of the participants which included Haider Cup Duffle Bags, Vancouver 2010 Olympics Golf Shirts, Divot Tool / Ball Marker and an event program. Additionally the players were presented with some information about Child Aid International (www.childaidinternational.com), the selected charity to be sponsored Haider Cup in 2008.

After suffering defeat in 2007, Canada was determined to take an early lead in 2008 and that they did. By the end of Day 1, Canada held a commanding lead of 14 - 3 after playing the 2-Man Best-ball format at the Whistler Golf Club. This was the largest Day 1 lead ever; the question was whether the Canadians could maintain this lead or not? For now it was time for both teams to enjoy lunch together at the course and each team to develop their own strategy for the days ahead. After lunch many players went back to the driving range to work on their swing... to their surprise, they saw 2 black bears on the driving range!

Day 2 is when handicaps come into play and it was expected that the US team would have the advantage here as they would be picking up strokes. The 2-Man Better-ball format was also played at the Whistler Golf Course and again 17 points were up for grabs. By the end of the day, the Canadian team earned another 12 points, thus taking an overall lead of 26 - 8.

Was it over? Were the Americans going to be defeated? Were the Canadians going to be able to hold their heads up high again? The Canadians only needed 8 1/2 points in order to win the 8th playing of The Haider Cup. At this point, neither team talked about the score, but rather again enjoyed lunch together again and many of the players from both teams spent the afternoon playing yet another of Whistler's spectacular courses, The Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Course; without any argument, the most picturesque golf course in Whistler and possibly in Canada.

Day 3 was played at Big Sky G&CC and 34 points were up for grabs, thus there was an opportunity for the US team to make a comeback, especially with match play, as anything could happen. The course was in excellent condition and the scenery was spectacular! There were many close matches on the course and the results could have gone either way, however at the end of the day, the Canadians once again prevailed with a Day 3 score 21 to 13, thus the Canadian team won by a total score of 47 to 21; this was the largest margin of defeat in Haider Cup history.

After the round, both teams gathered for the closing ceremonies and dinner. Both the US captain, Raza Dhanji and the Canadian captain, Sibthain Akbar addressed the players and their families and both started by remembering Marhum Arif Peera. They went on to talk about brotherhood that was once again displayed over the weekend and they both added some humour to the evening... Raza now knows how Sibthain felt last year when the Canadians lost to the US and visa versa, now Sibthain knows how Raza felt in 2007 after defeating the Canadians by a large margin.

With the event being held in Whistler, the home of the 2010 Winter Olympics it was fitting to build a theme around Whistler and the Olympics. The trophies that were awarded to both teams were in the shape of an Inuksuk a variation of which is also used as the symbol for the 2010 Olympics.

With the combined effort of all of the players, $1495 was raised for Child Aid International which will go towards sponsoring 4 orphan children in war torn Iraq for a full year. These funds will contribute towards food, education, clothing and medical relief for these children.

As part of the closing ceremonies, prizes were awarded to the Closest to the Pin competition which was won by Aqil Habib of Seattle, WA. Additionally a prize was awarded for the Longest Drive competition to Riyaaz Jivraj of Orlando, FL - The drive was 335 yards long!!

The final trophies that were presented were to the MVP's; this year the US MVP was awarded to Riyaaz Jivraj who won 2 out of his 3 matches and won by the largest margin of victory vs. other members of the US team. The Canadian MVP and the overall tournament MVP was awarded to Hassanali Rashid of Vancouver, BC who won all 3 of his matches and won by the largest overall margin.

In the end, the 2008 Vancouver Haider Cup Organizing Committee of Hameed Jagani, Mahmood A. Jaffer, Minaz Fazal, Mehboob Jetha and Mohamed Ladak thanked all of the players for their support and participation and thereafter reminded everyone that the 9th playing of the Haider Cup will be played in Los Angeles, California in 2009.
 

Arif Peera Memorial Trophy

Most Valuable Players

Hassanali Rashid - Team Canada

Riyaaz Jivraj - Team USA

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