RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Open title can be won by anyone as Muhammad Shabbir Iqbal (Islamabad Golf Club) defeated Ahmed Baig (PAF Sky View Golf Club, Lahore) to enter the final round of the Rawalpindi Club Course on Saturday. Caught
On this day when very few players could score an under par, Pakistan’s top golfer Shabbir also won an over in the third round. He leveled with Ahmed, averaging four overs. Both players now have a total score of 216 after three rounds.
“The course is really tough with everyone struggling to resolve. The cold weather and dry weather have made it more difficult for golfers to get better scores,” said Shabbir, who has been on the domestic circuit for a decade. Is ruling, he told The News.
Talking about his struggle, Shabbir said: “Because of me the wind was a small problem for me. Since the greens are moving a little faster, I also failed to control my planting.
However, he was seeing a much better performance at the Rs 500,000 Pakistan Open on the last day Sunday (today).
Shabbir stood at the front with two overs under one and nine and his third round score was 73 73. He got bogies on the first, third and eighth holes and carded birdies on the ninth and twelfth holes.
Ahmed, who took a two-wicket lead after the second round, managed to score more than four – 76 – 38 on the front and back nine on Saturday. It had a double bogie on the seventh hole and one bogie on the second, 11th, 12th, and 16th holes. However, two birdies (holes 3 and 15) helped him recover a bit.
Muhammad Nazir of Islamabad has fallen behind the leaders. On Saturday, his score was equal to of. Behind his heels are the three teams of Mohammad Afzal (SRC), veteran Mohammad Munir and amateur Umar Khokhar.
Afzal played the best round of the day, scoring four under-68s to stay on the field for the title. He sank six birdies against two bogies.
Omar, who had the same score as that day, won the title as the Eagle at hole 15, which helped him stay in the title race.
Timur Khan (PAF Peshawar) had an unsatisfactory third round, scoring more than 77 fives to get a total score of over 219 in three days.
In the junior category, Abdul Wadud leads with a two-day score of 143 runs. Faiza Ali has six more strokes followed by Ashfaq Ahmed (151).
Among the senior professionals, Nisar Hussain of PAF Islamabad will advance to the final round in four overs, followed by Zulfiqar Ali and Mohammad Akram in seven overs. President Dr. Arif Alvi will be the chief guest at the award ceremony on Sunday.
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