Iqbal struggles as Pakistan Open begins
Matloob stars on opening day of national golf event.
Iqbal finished with a one-over-par to finish in 13th place on the opening day, six shots behind his archrival Matloob Ahmed. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Defending champion Shabbir Iqbal got off to a poor start as the Pakistan Open Championship got underway at the Defence Authority Country and Golf Club in Karachi yesterday.
Iqbal, declared the favourite to win the event, finished with a one-over-par to finish in 13th place on the opening day, six shots behind his archrival Matloob Ahmed.
Meanwhile, Ahmed, the seasoned golfer from Islamabad impressed and finished with a card of five-under-par 67 to head the list. The country’s most experienced trio — Mohammad Munir ended in second place with a card of 68, Mohammad Nazir, Ansar Mehmood and Sajid Khan were joint-third with two-under-par 70.
Hamza Amin, Mohammad Siddique, Mohammad Zubair and Zulfiqar Ali ended the day with similar scores of one-under 71.
Over 150 golfers are taking part in the four-day event, which is offering the biggest prize money in the country’s history — a lucrative Rs5 million.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2013.
Defending champion Shabbir Iqbal got off to a poor start as the Pakistan Open Championship got underway at the Defence Authority Country and Golf Club in Karachi yesterday.
Iqbal, declared the favourite to win the event, finished with a one-over-par to finish in 13th place on the opening day, six shots behind his archrival Matloob Ahmed.
Meanwhile, Ahmed, the seasoned golfer from Islamabad impressed and finished with a card of five-under-par 67 to head the list. The country’s most experienced trio — Mohammad Munir ended in second place with a card of 68, Mohammad Nazir, Ansar Mehmood and Sajid Khan were joint-third with two-under-par 70.
Hamza Amin, Mohammad Siddique, Mohammad Zubair and Zulfiqar Ali ended the day with similar scores of one-under 71.
Over 150 golfers are taking part in the four-day event, which is offering the biggest prize money in the country’s history — a lucrative Rs5 million.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2013.