KARACHI: Omar Khalid, Pakistan’s top amateur, made history on Wednesday when he became the first Pakistani golfer to make the cut at the 74th US Junior Amateur Golf Championship at Bandon Dunes in Oregon on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old was in top gear in the second and final round of stroke play as he made seven birdies to card a two-under par 70 at the windy Bandon Dune course. That saw Omar make the cut with a two-day aggregate of 143.

Omar’s compatriot Yashal Shah who carded 75 on the opening day at Bandon Trails finished with a score of 77 in the second round at Bandon Dunes to fall out of the race for qualification to the match-play stage.

Omar, who needed to finish among the top 64 players in a field of 264 top-ranked juniors from 25 nations to make it to match play, ended at 48th spot after posting an even-par total in 36-holes.

Omar, who became the youngest winner of the Pakistan Amateur Golf Championship at the age of 16 last year, hit seven birdies in the second round and now faces Caden Pinckes in the round-of-64.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2022