Shabbir takes slim lead ahead of Munir in Sindh Open

KARACHI: On a day when the professionals were unable to really conquer the challenging playing conditions here at the Arabian Sea Country Club on Saturday, defending champion Shabbir Iqbal shot a four-under par 68 to take a slim one-shot lead in the 17th Sindh Open Golf Championship.
Shabbir, the reigning Pakistan No. 1 who was undone by his chief rival Muhammad Munir at last week’s CNS Open at KGC, made four birdies during a bogey-free round to catapult himself into a perfect position to defend the prestigious crown.
“It was a reasonably good day for me and I’m confident going into the final round,” Shabbir said.
Having sank birdies on holes 3,7, 12 and 14, Shabbir was the outright winner in the second round. He one shot clear of opening day leader Munir, who followed his first day’s eight-under 64 with a not-as-impressive card of 71 in the penultimate round of the Rs2 million championship being hosted by the Sindh Golf Association (SGA).
It was the first time in six rounds since landing in Karachi that Munir was unable to shoot a sub-70 round. He had two bogeys on the Front Nine in which he birdied the 9th hole and then managed to recover on the Back Nine where he made four birdies. However, two more bogeys on the Back Nine made sure that he won’t finish on the leader-board for the first time during the Karachi leg of the national circuit this season.
Matloob Ahmed, who was tied for the second place after the opening round, carded one-over par 73. Hamza Amin followed his opening round score of two-under 70 with a similar card to stay alive in the event. He is six shots off the pace going into the final round.
In the amateurs’ category, Ghazanfar Mehmood was in his element in the second round and carded one-under 71. Other top finishers in the second round were Muhammad Rehman, Zeeshan Ahmed, Taimur Khan, Tariq Mehmood, Zohaib Asif, Umair Javed and Ashiq Hussain.
The Sindh Open offers a prize basket of Rs2.5 millions. The lion’s share of the prize money will go to the professionals who are competing for a lucrative purse of Rs2 million during the 54-hole championship. The prize purse will be distributed among the top-40 pros.
The senior professionals’ category offers an enhanced prize money of Rs500,000 and is being held on the sidelines of the main event. Traditionally played over two days, the senior pros’ championship is being played over three days this year.
Leader-board after second round (professionals):
134 – Shabbir Iqbal (66 68). 135 — Muhammad Munir (64 71). 139 — Matloob Ahmed (66 73).
Leader-board after second round (amateurs):
142 – Ghazanfar Mehmood (71 71). 145 – Taimur Khan (70 75). 148 — Umair Javed (71 77). Robin Bagh (71 77). Zohaib Asif (72 76). Ashiq hussain (72 76). Nadeem Aslam (72 76). Zeeshan Ahmed (74 74). Muhammad Rehman (75 73).