KARACHI: Matloob Ahmed was in danger of slipping further. Two bogeys in succession seemed to have derailed his ambitions of keeping pace with the leaders. But then came a late surge that took him top of the leaderboard with the last 18 holes to play at the CNS Open Golf Championship.

The former champion’s late flurry of birdies — one each on the final three holes at the Karachi Golf Course — took Matloob to a splendid six-under 66 in the Saturday’s penultimate round, and 13-under 203 overall that gave him a one-stroke lead over Shabbir Iqbal (68) and overnight leader Mohammad Zubair (70).

Minhaj Maqsood Warraich (71) is a further three shots back at 207, three ahead of defending champion Ahmed Baig, who revived his title defence by matching Matloob with a 66 that featured seven birdies.

There is a sizeable gap between the top five and the rest of the field with Mohammad Amir (73) and Mohammad Munir (74), five shots further adrift at 215. They are one ahead of Nabeel Khan (67), Mohammad Shahzad (71) and Mohammad Ashfaq (72).

The battle for the crown in Sunday’s final round, therefore, looks to be among the top five with Matloob looking to stave off the challenge. Having last won the tournament in 2016, Matloob will draw inspiration from a rip-roaring showing on Friday.

Starting the day three shots off the lead, Matloob struck three birdies at equal intervals by the first six holes before bogeying the ninth. He rebounded with a stunning eagle at the turn and sank another birdie on the 11th before coming unstuck on the 14th and 15th holes, only to find his putter once again on the last three holes.

Zubair struck five birdies but his bogey count saw him relinquish his lead, allowing Shabbir — who started the day two shots behind — to close in. Shabbir, whose run of four straight titles at the championship was ended by Ahmed last year, struck seven birdies.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2025