Ashfaq retains lead in DHA Karachi Cup

KARACHI: Muhammad Ashfaq on Saturday managed to hold on to his lead but the duo of Muhammad Alam and Ahmad Baig weren’t too far behind following the penultimate round of the DHA Karachi Cup All Pakistan Golf Championship.

Ashfaq, who fired a stunning round of 67 on the opening day to take the pole position on the leader-board, faltered in the second round with 73 but was still leading by one stroke. His two-day aggregate is 138 (-6).

In second place was Muhammad Alam (139) who followed his opening round 68 with 71.

Young star Ahmad Baig (140) jumped to third place with Saturday’s best round – a superb 69 – in challenging conditions. At 142 is the seasoned Muhammad Munir followed by Shabbir Iqbal at 143.

Ashfaq of Airmen Golf Club could have been in a better position going into the third and final round of the championship but a triple bogey on the par-3 third hole ruined his card.

In the amateurs’ category, Hamza Ghani carded 78 to take a five shot lead.

But the day’s best score in the amateurs category came from Omar Khalid, the 16-year-old schoolboy who created history earlier this month by becoming the youngest player to win the National Golf Championship. Omar, who has been busy with his O-Levels exams, faltered in the opening round with 85. But he was back in full flow on Friday as he carded 74 that included birdies on holes 11, 12 and 15. He is now placed on the second position behind Hamza. In joint third place is the duo of Yashal Shah and Waleed Ali Khan.

Meanwhile, Omar Bangash won the seniors’ title of the DHA Cup. Ahmed Jamil Siddiqui was the runner-up while Azhar Abbas finished third.

Humera Khalid won the ladies title followed by Tabassum Sharif and Nida Huq. Sameer Sayeed won the juniors title while Abdullah Shiraz was the runner-up.

Following is the professionals’ leader-board after the second round:

138 - Muhammad Ashfaq

139 – Muhammad Alam

140 – Ahmad Baig

142 – Muhammad Munir

143 – Shabbir Iqbal, Zahir Shah

Amateurs’ leader-board:

154 – Hamza Ghani

159 – Omar Khalid

161 – Waleed Ali Khan, Yashal Shah

162 – Ali Mehmood.