KARACHI, Aug 25: Defending champion Shabbir Iqbal fired two under par 70 to retain his title after an overwhelming five-stroke victory at Chief of Naval Staff Open golf championship at Karachi Golf Club on Sunday.

Not only Shabbir displayed fine skills at the fairways, but a horrible start on the last day by overnight leader Matloob Ahmad also allowed the defending champion to earn the trophy.

Pakistan No 1 Shabbir had a single bogey and carded three birdies, while Matloob, who had six-shot lead at the start of the day, lost the grip over the proceedings after he had seven bogies and only three birdies to settle as runner-up.

Saleem Inayat scored two under par 70 to finish third along with Mohammad Siddique and Amjad Yousuf. Siddique had a round of one under par 71 and Amjad faltered with seven over par 79.

Taj Nabi grabbed fourth spot after one under par 71 followed by Mohammad Akram, Nadeem Inayat, Shafiq Masih and Mohammad Tariq.

Imdad Hussain, one of country’s leading golfers, had a terrible tournament as he finished at 25th position with a final round of nine over par 81.

Shahid Khan lifted amateur title after a playoff at 18th hole. Vaqas Ahmad who was tied with Shahid at 289 became the runner-up.