July 18, 2008	Friday	Rajab 14, 1429

KARACHI, July 17: Seasoned golfer Mohammad Shabbir Iqbal of Islamabad Golf Club surged to the top in the Open category after playing second round of six under par 66 for a total of nine under par 135 on the penultimate day of 10th Sindh Open golf championship at Arabian Sea Country club on Thursday.

Shabbir who finished joint second with Talib Hussain at the end of first round by carding three under par 69 and trailing by two strokes behind Sajjad, has not only overcome the deficit but took a four stroke lead.

Fresh from his CNS Open triumph, Shabbir, a former Sindh Open champion, displayed perfect acumen by firing eight birdies including four consecutive on hole 14, 15, 16 and 17. He registered two bogeys on hole 5 and 13.

Matloob Ahmed of Lahore Gymkhana who ended first round joint third with Imdad Hussain and Mohammad Irfan, also improved his position by grabbing second place after a round of three under par 69 for an aggregate of five under par 139.

He had an eagle on hole 4 and a birdie on hole 11.

Trailing six strokes behind in the third place at a total of three under par 141 are Mohammad Muneer of Cres Bank and overnight leader Sajjad Khan (Islamabad).

Muneer who claimed Sindh Open crown two years back, carded three under par 69 which include five birdies while Sajjad of Royal Palm Golf Club (RPGC) squandered the advantage and slipped on the leader board after playing second round of two over par 74.

Meanwhile, demonstrating commendable performance Ghani Khan of the Arabian Sea Country Club (ASCC) won the 36-hole Senior Professionals title by playing a round of four under par 68 for a total of 140.

Manzoor Ahmed and M. Rafique, both of Lahore Gymkhana, finished second and third with a score of 145 and 146 respectively.

Gujranwala’s Mohammad Safdar played a second round of 73 to emerge sole leader in Amateur category with a score of 147.

Overnight joint leaders Sajid Khan and Adil Jahangir have relegated to second position with 150.

Two strokes further behind at a score of 152 are defending champion Mohammad Ali Hai of KGC and Rafique Malik of SGA.

Leader board Professionals:

135- M. Shabbir Iqbal (Islamabad) 69, 66.

139- Matloob Ahmed (Gymkhana) 70, 69.

141- Mohammad Muneer (Islamabad) 72, 69; Sajjad Khan (Islamabad)67, 74.

142- Shahid Javed Khan (Rawalpindi) 72, 70.

143- Talib Hussain (Islamabad) 69, 74; Imdad Hussain (Bank Al Falah) 70-73; Waheed Baloch (KGC) 72, 71; Javed Inayat (KGC) 73-70. 144- Mohammad Irfan (Rawalpindi) 70, 74.

145- Nisar Hussain (PAF) 72, 73; Ansar Mehmood (Islamabad) 75, 70.

146- Taj Nabi (KGC) 73, 73; Naseer Khan (DHA) 75, 71.

147- Mohammad Tariq (Islamabad) 74, 73; Mohammad Akram (Gymkhana) 76-71; Fida Hussain (LGC) 77, 70.

148- Mohammad Siddique (Faisalabad) 75, 73; Zubair Satti (Islamabad) 77, 71.

149- Ahmed Saeed (KGC) 72, 77; Amjad Yousuf (KGC) 73, 76; M. Nazir (Islamabad) 73, 76; Mohammad Sajid (Rawalpindi) 75, 74; Afzal Mohsin (Hyderabad) 77, 72; Mehmood Kayani (Islamabad) 78, 71.

150- Rizwan Khan (DHA) 74, 76; Akhtar Gul (ASCC) 77, 73.

Leader board Senior Professionals:

142- Ghani Khan (ASCC) 74, 68.

145- Manzoor Ahmed (Gymkhana) 74, 71.

146- M. Shafique (Gymkhana) 73, 73.

155- Shaukat Ali (Gymkhana) 76, 79.

162- Angoor Khan (KGC) 86, 76.

164- A. Rasheed (KGC) 82, 82.

169- A. Sattar (KGC) 77, 92.

179- Khair Mohammad (KGC) 90, 89.

Leader board Amateurs:

147- M. Safdar (Gujranwala) 74, 73.

150- Adil Jahangir (Lahore Gymkhana) 73, 77; Sajid Khan (ASCC) 73, 77.

152- Rafiq Malik (SGA) 74, 78; Mohammad Ali Hai (KGC) 80, 72.

153- Amjad Rahim (SGA) 75, 78; Abrar Ahmed (SGA) 78, 75; Mohsin Khan (SGA) 78, 75.