KARACHI, July 19 Seasoned golfer Mohammad Munir of Islamabad Golf Club beat rain and rivals to land the 54-hole 14th CNS Open Golf Championship, second of his career, at the Karachi Golf Club on Sunday.

Munir, who surged to joint top slot at the end of second round, carded three-under-par 69 for an aggregate of six-under-par 210 to win by four strokes over defending champion Shabbir Iqbal.
He fired four birdies, one on front nine and the rest on back nine, and a bogey to finish ahead of challengers.

Five-time champion Shabbir Iqbal of Navy could not maintain his pace by playing an unimpressive last round of one-over-par 73 to settle for the second place. His final day score includes three birdies and four bogeys.

Munir fetched a winning purse of Rs391,163 out of Rs2.5 million from the chief guest, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir at a colourful prize-distribution ceremony on the KGC lawns amidst thunderous applause.

The naval chief also presented the keys of Toyota Altis car to Lahore Gymkhana's Asahir Hanif for his hole-in-one feat.

“I have worked hard in preparation for upcoming challenge in Asian Tour and was confident to win the crown,” a jubilant Munir told Dawn soon after his triumph.

“After playing opening round of par 72 and trailing joint fourth, I recovered and played the next two rounds superbly, said the 35-year-old champion.

He leaves for Asian Tour on Sunday night which takes him to Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. The trip, he said, has been sponsored by the Pakistan Golf Federation.

Country ace golfer Mohammad Ali Hai of the Karachi Golf Club lived up to his top billing when he retained the Amateur gross crown with a convincing five strokes win over Islamabad's Tariq Mahmood.

Hai played last round of three-over-par 75 for an aggregate score of one-under-par 215.

Tariq finished runner up, with a total of six-under-par 222.

This is Hai's overall fourth victory in the Amateur event of the CNS championship.

The ladies gross title went to Ghazala Zaidi while Sherin Khan finished runner up.

Shahida Ismail annexed the ladies net crown followed by Naghmana Atif.

Results

Professional Gross
210 - Mohammad Munir (Islamabad Golf Club) 72, 69, 69.
214 - Shabbir Iqbal (Navy) 70, 71, 73.
216 - Amjad Yousuf (KGC) 75, 71, 70; Mohammad Tariq (Islamabad Golf Club) 72, 72, 72; Naseer Khan (Peshawar) 75, 68, 73.
217 - Nadeem Inayat (KGC) 73, 73, 71.
218 - Haseeb-ur-Rehman (Islamabad Golf Club) 70, 75, 73; Mohammad Siddique (Lyallpur Golf Club) 67, 74, 77.

Amateur Gross

215 - Mohammad Ali Hai (KGC) 67, 73, 75.
222 - Tariq Mahmood (Islamabad Golf Club) 72, 77, 73.
230 - Danyaal Jahangir (Gymkhana) 81, 74, 75; M. Waseem Rana (DHA) 75, 75, 80.
234 - Ali Sher (SGA) 79, 79, 76; Omair Javed (DHA) 76, 77, 81.
236 - Sajid Khan (ASCC) 78, 78, 80.

Seniors

Winner Gross 77 - Cdre Zafar Mahmood (KGC).
Runner up Gross 78 - Asad I. A. Khan.
Winner Net 72 - Cdr. Mehboob Ahmed.
Runner up Net 72 - Syed Qamar Naqvi (DHA).

Ladies

Winner Gross 91 - Ghazala Zaidi (LGC).
Runner up Gross 94 - Sherin Khan (KGC).
Winner Net 75 - Shahida Ismail (KGC).
Runner up Net 79 - Naghmana Atif (KGC).