The 29th Prime Minister Open Golf Championship 2021 concluded at the Rawalpindi Golf Club Golf Course after three rounds (54 holes) of golfing encounter that involved exceptional and flawless application of golfing skills.
Most successful one in Professional category turned out to be M. Shabbir Iqbal of Islamabad Golf Club while the admirable and commendable one in amateur category was the blooming and developing Salman Jehangir of Lahore Gymkhana.
Once again the final round was a pristine engagement between Shabbir Iqbal and the able bodied adolescent Ahmad Baig of PAF in the professional section of the acclaimed Prime Minister Open Golf Championship. During the course of competitive play in the final the run of play was fairly balanced and though Shabbir was really potent in his shot making, Ahmad Baig in spite of being a younger player managed to avoid the strain and dread of Shabbirs past achievements. All through the 18 holes he appeared a masterly golfer with every shot precise and flair filled and his all round game, absolutely of prime quality and unwavering and consistent in terms of excellence. That he lost to Shabbir in the end by one stroke may have left him slightly tormented but he has to be gratified with the fact that he played remarkably and even his opponents considered his effort phenomenal.
Shabbir Iqbal won with three round scores of 69, 69 and another 69 on the final day and an aggregate of 207, nine under par for the championship. Ahmad Baig had rounds of 73, 67 and 68, an aggregate of 208, eight under par for the Championship. And he lost to the ultimate champion by one stoke.
Another notable performer of the professional section was M. Matloob of Lahore Garrison Greens with a score of 210,six under par. He ended up third.
A few more who did well are M. Alam 212, Ashiq Hussain 214, M. Tariq 214, M. Munir 215 and M. Shahzad 216.
In the amateur section Salman Jehangir of Lahore Gymkhana won the first gross with rounds of 76, 71 and 73 and a championship aggregate of 220. Runners up in this section was Hussain Hamid of Royal Palm with a three days aggregate of 232. Hussain and Qasim Ali Khan had similar aggregates but was declared second because his score for last two rounds was better.
Ladies section winners were Parkha Ijaz, first, Rimsha Ijaz, second and Hamna Amjad, third. Net section ladies performers were Samina Ishtiaq, first, Mrs Faraz Ahsan, second and Meerab Rizwan, third.
In the Junior professionals competition, Abdul Wadood came first, M. Saqib was second and Musa Khan,third.
