KARACHI: Unfancied trio of golfers – Ashar Masih, Jafal Hussain and Mohammad Arif – gained prominence by carding three under par 69 to share first round lead in the pros event of the 54-holes Bank Al Habib’s fourth Rashid D Habib memorial national golf tournament which teed off at Karachi Golf Club on Friday.

On the heels of top three at two under par 70 is Adil Jehangir while a quartet including former champion Mohammad Munir, are tied in the third place at 71, one under par. The three other players are Mohammad Akhtar, Mohammad Ashfaq and Ahmed Saeed.

Prolific golfer Shabbir Iqbal, who has won many laurels at this course in his illustrious career, mustered one over 73 to share fifth place with 10 others.

Asghar Ali shot two under 70 to lead the pack in the first round of 36-holes senior pros competition.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Abid won the 36 holes KGC pros title with a two-day aggregate of three over 147. His scores were 76 and 71.

The 36-holes caddies event ended in a blaze of glory for Zubair Ahmed who also posted a card of 147, three over.

Leader board after first round:

Pros:

69 – Ashar Masih (Gymkhana), Jafal Hussain (Gymkhana), Mohammad Arif (DHA).

70 – Adil Jehangir (Gymkhana).

71 – Mohammad Akhtar (Islamabad), Mohammad Ashfaq (Airmen Golf Club), Mohammad Munir (Islamabad), Ahmed Saeed (KGC).

72 – Taj Nabi (KGC), Talib Hussain (Islamabad), Waheed Baloch (KGC), Akbar Mahroz (Gymkhana), Nisar Hussain (PAF).

73 – Sajjad Khan (Islamabad), Abdullah (KGC), Imran Ali Khan (DHA), Shabbir Iqbal (Islamabad), Rehmatullah (DHA), Ahmed Shahid (Royal Palm), Haseeb-ur-Rehman (Islamabad), Matloob Ahmed (LGC), Amjad Yousuf (KGC), Mohammad Khurshid (Islamabad), Shafiq Masih (Gymkhana).

Senior pros:

70 – Asghar Ali (Gymkhana).

72 – M. Ilyas (Gymkhana), Akbar Ali (Gymkhana).

Top finishers:

KGC professionals:

147 – Mohammad Abid (KGC) 76, 71.

149 – Noor Din (KGC) 71, 78, Shahzad Billa (KGC) 73, 76.

Top finishers:

Caddies:

147 – Zubair Ahmed (KGC) 73, 74

150 – Mudassir (KGC) 73, 77.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2015

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