DHA Golf Open : Iqbal pips Amin to title
Defeats youngster in second play-off to claim Rs1.8 million.
PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI:
Shabbir Iqbal clinched the All-Pakistan DHA Cup Gold Open Championship following a sudden-death play-off at the DHA Golf and Country Club in Karachi on Sunday.
After the final round ended in a three-way tie, with Iqbal, defending champion Mohammad Munir and Hamza Amin, all finishing with an aggregate score of seven-under-par 209, the game went into the deciding play-offs.
In the first play-off on the 18th hole, Munir fell one putt short, while Iqbal and Amin finished with the same score to enforce another play-off, this time at the 16th hole. The second play-off saw Iqbal use all his experience to finish one-under-par and pip Amin to the title and Rs1.8 million.
“This green is not that tough as it was in this championship; the wind made it tougher,” said Shabbir. “The wind on the second and the last day changed the results a lot and required a lot of concentration on our part. I’m glad I could win this championship.”
Amin, meanwhile, said that he gave his best effort but wasn’t as composed as Iqbal in the second play-off. “The pressure of the game made me miss the shot otherwise I could have won this championship,” Amin told The Express Tribune. “The play-off made the final day very interesting.”
In the hole-in-one event, 18-year-old Ahmed Baig of the Lahore Garrison Club won the Toyota Corolla Grande, while in the senior professional category, Mohammad Akram won with his two-under-par 70.
Usman Ali was the junior professional champion, while Mohammad Sharif and Humera Khalid won the amateurs and ladies events.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2016.
Shabbir Iqbal clinched the All-Pakistan DHA Cup Gold Open Championship following a sudden-death play-off at the DHA Golf and Country Club in Karachi on Sunday.
After the final round ended in a three-way tie, with Iqbal, defending champion Mohammad Munir and Hamza Amin, all finishing with an aggregate score of seven-under-par 209, the game went into the deciding play-offs.
In the first play-off on the 18th hole, Munir fell one putt short, while Iqbal and Amin finished with the same score to enforce another play-off, this time at the 16th hole. The second play-off saw Iqbal use all his experience to finish one-under-par and pip Amin to the title and Rs1.8 million.
“This green is not that tough as it was in this championship; the wind made it tougher,” said Shabbir. “The wind on the second and the last day changed the results a lot and required a lot of concentration on our part. I’m glad I could win this championship.”
Amin, meanwhile, said that he gave his best effort but wasn’t as composed as Iqbal in the second play-off. “The pressure of the game made me miss the shot otherwise I could have won this championship,” Amin told The Express Tribune. “The play-off made the final day very interesting.”
In the hole-in-one event, 18-year-old Ahmed Baig of the Lahore Garrison Club won the Toyota Corolla Grande, while in the senior professional category, Mohammad Akram won with his two-under-par 70.
Usman Ali was the junior professional champion, while Mohammad Sharif and Humera Khalid won the amateurs and ladies events.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2016.