KARACHI: It was a golfing show of utter dominance in which the result was never in doubt. But a 30-stroke victory margin was the icing on the cake that capped an imperious three rounds for Omar Khalid.

The national amateur champion was well and truly head and shoulders above the rest at the Airmen Golf Course, not only his boys’ under-18 age class but in the overall Faldo Series Pakistan Golf Championship as well.

A final-round three-over 75 on Sunday saw him finish on one-over 217 but still saw him finish way ahead of second-placed Syed Yashal Shah (79), who has emerged as one of Omar’s closest rivals in the last year.

They have duelled in recent tournaments with Yashal snatching the Faldo Series boys’ under-16 title from Omar in the last edition. This time, though, Yashal stood no chance.

Sameer Syed (89) and Abdulah Arif (88) finished level on 255, with Basil ur Rehman (88) fourth on 261.

There was another dominant victory for Nadir Ahmed Khan in the boys’ under-21 competition.

Nadir (81) had a three-round aggregate of 244 as he finished 10 shots ahead of Hamza Zahid Khan (83) while Damil Ataullah, a previous winner in the under-18 category, third on 255 after an 84.

There was a closer contest for the boys’ under-16 title with Laraib ur Rehman ending just two shots ahead of Mohammad Darmal.

Laraib’s final-round 87 gave him a 246 as Darmal (83) fell short. Ashaas (92) and Saad Habib (83) finished level on 252.

Humna Amjad (79) secured the girls’ under-21 title after her 246 saw her finish six shots ahead of Daniah Syed (82). Abiha Hanim Syed (89), the only other competitor, finsihed on 267.

Ayesha Kashif was the only entrant in the girls’ under-16 competition and she rounded off her campaign with a 117 that gave her an overall score of 320.

The winners of each category will now represent Pakistan at the Faldo Series Asia Grand Finals in Vietnam.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2022