Shabbir Iqbal leading 15th Chief of Naval Staff Open Golf Cup
Navy’s Shabbir Iqbal is ready to grab the crown of the 15th Chief of Naval Staff Open Golf being held in Karachi along with the winning amount of Rs. 0.5 million that has been announced for the winner. Shabbir, who is a naval sailor, has won nearly 70 titles during the last 15 years. Shabbir is the same golfer who along with Muhammad Munir made Pakistan proud after qualifying for the Golf World Cup that was held in China last year. Due to their achievements, Pakistan finished at the 22nd position in the mega-event.
On Saturday, the Karachi Golf Club witnessed Shabbir Iqbal perform to the best of his abilities when he made a seven stroke lead against his competitors on the third and penultimate round of the CN Open Golf tournament. Earlier in the tournament, Muhammad Munir, who is the defending champion was defeated after the submission of a wrongly filled scorecard. On the same day, Shabbir Iqbal logged 1 under 71 for the third round as he finished with seven under 209.
The second place was clinched by Waheed Baloch who completed the round with Par 72and is seven strokes behind Shabbir Iqbal. Muhammad Tariq from Islamabad has occupied the third position and is playing at one over 73 for the third round.
At the end of the second round, Khalid Khan was placed at the 18th position as jumped over 14 positions after lodging a score of 4 under 68. So far, Khan has hit six birdies and two bogeys which is the best score of the championship.
After entering the final round on Sunday, Shabbir Iqbal has a lead of seven strokes. Though it seems that Shabbir is all set to win the crown, but it depends upon his scores in the last round. If Shabbir manages to make a par score, he will go on to clinch the title, as all his opponents are far behind Shabbir and they would need some extraordinary scores on the final day to change that situation.
While speaking to the media in Karachi, Shabbir Iqbal believes that the Pakistan Golf Federation shout work hard to promote golf in Pakistan, as the sport has a bright future in the country. He said, “It is high time that PGF should open academies for the young and upcoming golfers and should also invite coaches from abroad and try to get good sponsors for the betterment of the game.”
On the leader’s board, Khalid Khan, Muhammad Tariq and Waheed Baloch are most likely to fight for the top two positions. However, Muhammad Asif of Lahore Gymkhana has gained the attention on the third day of the championship as he scored a rare eagle on the 17th hole to win a Toyota Atlas Car.
With bright sunshine and total dry greens, good scores are possible and expected from the prominent golfers. The winner of the championship will get Rs 4, 94,110 as prize money.
Leader board at the end of third round:
Shabbir Iqbal (Navy) (69-69-71) 209
Waheed Baloch (KGC) (71-72-72) 216
M Tariq (Islamabad) (72-72-73) 217
Khalid Khan (Peshawar) (74-76-68) 218
Ansar Mahmood (Navy) (73-72-72) 218
Matloob Ahmed (Lahore Gym) (73-72-72) 218
Javed Inayat (KGC) (72-75-72) 219
M Siddique (Faisalabad) (73-72-74) 219
Sajjad Khan (Islamabad) (74-76-71) 221
Imdad Hussain (Lahore Garrison) (73-72-76) 221.
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