The Islamabad-based golfer, representing Pakistan Navy, secured a two-stroke lead in the professional category, according to information provided by an ASCC official.
“Iqbal has proved himself against tough opponents like Muhammad Munir who scored four over-par (76),” ASCC CEO Arif Ali Khan Abbasi told The Express Tribune.
“He is definitively the favourite to win the event. There are only two golfers who scored under-par on the first day — Shabbir and Imdad Hussain, who posted a score of one under-par (71).
“We still have long way to go. Anything can happen in the remaining two days.”
Championship leader Shabbir said understanding the wind was a key factor on this golf course.
“This golf course has the wind factor,” said Shabbir. “This can go in favour of good golfers whereas it can be a disadvantage for the others.”
Meanwhile, last year’s champion Muhammad Siddique played a disastrous first round with a score of seven over-par (79), with six bogeys and one double bogey.
In the senior professional category, Asghar Ali secured the lead in round one with two under-par (70), followed by Muhammad Ilyas with a par-score (72), while the third spot was jointly shared by Ghani Khan and Akhtar Ali with a card of one over-par (73).
Published in The Express Tribune, August 16th, 2014.
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