December 02, 2007	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 21, 1428

LAHORE, Dec 1: With another splendid card of under-par-68, Matloob Ahmed managed to retain the top position on the second day of the Lahore Garrison Open Golf championship here on Saturday.

Matloob, who had posted a card of six-under-par on the opening day, now with an aggregate of 134 is the leader, leaving behind Talib Hussain (Islamabad) and Ansar Mahmood (Islamabad) on the second spot with a difference of four strokes each.

During the second round, Matloob faced a tough fight from Talib, who also handed over a card of six-under-par-66 after his opening day score of par-72.

Matloob had birdies at the 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th holes and an eagle over the 15th.

Shahid Javed Khan (Rawalpindi) and Akhtar Ali (Police) were bracketed in the third spot with 140 each.

Fida Hussain (142) and Mohammad Akram (144) were on the fourth and fifth positions.

Talking about his commendable performance Matloob said, “The greens were on my side on Saturday. A 66 on any day feels good and leaves my self confidence fairly high when going into the final round.”

Out of the other combatants, Talib Hussain, Shahid Javed Khan and Akhtar Ali produced rounds of excellence on the second day, playing a solid game from tee to the green while avoiding any kind of blemishes. Another best round of the day was played by Talib Hussain, a gross 66 with eight birdies on the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 18th holes and bogies on the 7th and 10th. Hardly known in golf circles, Talib let his excellent performance put his name amongst the top contenders.

Helped by six birdies, an eagle with the faults appearing on the 9th, 13th, and 14th holes which he bogied, Shahid Javed Khan also excelled with a round of 67 five-under-par.

In the amateur section, Robin Bagh appeared to be the best with his two-day aggregate of 154 (76, 78). One stroke away was Zohaib Asif, on second, while Raheel Akbar (156), Shakeel Ahmed (157), Shafiq Bhatti (157) and Shahid Khan (157) reached the top circle.

In the seniors professionals, held over 18 holes, Ghani Khan of Karachi emerged as the winner with the gross score of 71. Iftikhar Ahmed of Gymkhana achieved the second position with a score of 72. Shaukat Ali of the same club was third.

Scores:

134 –- Matloob Ahmed 66, 68

138 –- Talib Hussain 72, 66

138 –- Anser Mehmood 70, 68

140 –- Shahid Javed Khan 73, 67

140 –- Akhter Ali 72, 68

142 –- Fida Hussain 71, 71

144 –- M. Akram 72, 72

144 –- M. Nazir 71, 73