KARACHI: Shabbir Iqbal is showing no signs of slowing down.

Having successfully defended two of his titles in the last two weeks, reaching 195 career titles, the Pakistan number one primed himself for a third successive one at the CAS Open Golf Championship on Saturday.

A four-under 68 saw Shabbir, fresh from victories at the Sindh Open and the Pakistan Open, storm atop the leaderboard at four-under 140 at the end of the second round at the Airmen Golf Course.

That saw him gain two strokes on Ahmed Baig (70), the youngster who’s emerged as a threat to Shabbir’s dominance and finished runner-up at last week’s Pakistan Open.

One of three overnight leaders, Mohammad Shahzad (73), was a shot further adrift alongside Ansar Mehmood (69).

At 144 is a group of five comprising Mohammad Zubair (70), Talib Hussain (71), Minhaj Maqsood Warraich (72), Mohammad Munir (73) and Khalid Khan (73).

Another group of five is at one-over, including Mohammad Qasim — who fired the day’s best of 67 — and Shabbir’s long-time rival Matloob Ahmed (74).

On this form though, no one seems to be close to rivalling Shabbir on his unrelenting run of trophies.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2022