LAHORE: Ahmed Baig defended his crown at the 10th J.A. Zaman Golf Championship with a stunning late charge at the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course here on Sunday.
Having started the final round two shots behind Pakistan number one Shabbir Iqbal, Ahmed left his rivals trailing in his wake with a remarkable show starting from the par-5 16th hole.
Ahmed had landed his second shot on the green, some 25 feet away from the hole. With the wind backing him, he went for it and landed an eagle to surge into the lead before finishing off with consecutive birdies to finish with a three-under 69 and an overall eight-under 280.
Overnight leader Shabbir (73) couldn’t respond to Ahmed’s inspired putting and finished two strokes behind, one stroke ahead of Minhaj Maqsood Warriach (70). Mohammad Nazir, who was Shabbir’s closest challenger at the start of the last 18 holes, was a further shot adrift after carding 74.
Mohammad Alam (73) ended in fifth on 285, three ahead of Mohammad Zubair.
Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2024
