LAHORE: In a remarkable second-round performance, Matloob Ahmed fired two eagles at the Lahore Gymkhana to soar into the lead at the halfway stage of the J.A. Zaman Memorial Open Golf Championship on Friday.

But despite the eagles on the par-4 third hole and the par-five 16th, the seasoned Matloob didn’t run away with the lead. There were two birdies too, on the 15th and 18th but bogeys on the sixth, 11th and 13th meant Matloob’s three-under 69 took him to 139 overall and a one-shot lead over a trio of golfers.

Among the closest challengers to Matloob, Shahid Javed Khan produced the round of the day with an eagle on the 16th as well as six birdies seeing him return a card of 68. Tied at 140 with Shahid are Mohammad Munir (71) and Sunny Masih (72), the joint-leader of the opening round.

Minhaj Warraich, who was level with Sunny atop the leaderboard on Thursday, is a further shot adrift while Ahmed Baig (73) is at 142. Pakistan number one Shabbir Iqbal, however, finds himself six off the lead after he also shot a 73.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2023