Dr Dildar makes his presence felt in Quaid Golf

LAHORE: Dr Dildar Chaudry came to the forefront in the opening round of the amateurs category of the Quaid-i-Azam Golf Championship here at Lahore Gymkhana on Saturday.

Out of a total of 160 competing amateur players, an athletic looking Dr Dildar emerged as the leader at the end of the first 18 holes of this 36 holes Championship endorsed and backed by Brighto Paints, Jubilee Insurance and Pak Arab Developers.

This Championship now enters the final phase at the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course. Dr Dildar of Defence Raya played a round of net 68, four under par and during the course of the first 18 holes he displayed praiseworthy control over his golf swing and also over his temperament. At no stage was he awed by the presence of many established ones and played each hole on merit. Equally applaudable was the performance of Dr Zafar Nasrullah of Lahore Gymkhana who definitely performed to perfection and at the end of the round on Saturday, he is placed at a score of net 68, bracketed with Dr Dildar Chaudry.

While these two are the leaders, moving into the final phase, there are quite a few who also displayed steady play and are in a position to challenge the leaders on Sunday. Col Rustam Ali Piracha of Garrison is one and Shazil Ibrahim of USA is another. Col Rustam brought in a score of net 69 and Shazil scored net 70. Some other good performers who appear as hopefuls are Azmat Lodhi 71, Ahmed Jibran 71 and Ameer Khawaja 72. A few of the participants could not complete their round and they will do so on Sunday before the other competitors tee off for the final go.

In the race for gross honors Ghazanfar Mehmood is ahead of others with a score of gross 72. Bracketed with him at a score of gross 72 is the accomplished Wazir Ali. Mohammed Rehman of Royal Palm stands one stroke behind at a score of gross 73.

The battle is on and the competition is expected to be sharp edged indeed.

The Amateurs will tee off at 8 am on Sunday. At the conclusion of the Championship, the prize distribution will be held at 4.30 pm at the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course.