LAHORE: At the end of the second round of the 7th J.A.Zaman Memorial Open Golf Championship in progress at the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course, Matloob Ahmed gained access to the top position.
On Friday, in the course of the second round he was brilliant and radiant and carried enough sparkle to enable him to card an excellent round of gross 66, six under par and attain an outstanding aggregate score of 136 for two rounds. By virtue of this he appears as the top contender to the J. A. Zaman title as this championship gets into the third round.
Another star of the second round on Friday turned out to be Shahid Javed Khan of WAPDA. After a rather modest performance in the first round, he managed to show his artistry in the second round. Throughout the 18 holes he played every shot to perfection and this effort yielded a round that was polished and gleaming and studded with an unbelievable nine birdies realized on holes 2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16 and finally the ninth one on the 18th hole. Somehow one bogie did surprise him on one his best days in his professional golfing career and that was on the 12th hole. His score for the round was an amazing gross 64 and he ends up with an aggregate score of 138, two strokes behind the leader, Matloob Ahmed. And said, Shahid Javed after this amazing show of golfing skills that ‘I felt the touch of excellence was ample and the confidence at a height’. ‘I hope i can duplicate this formidable control in the remaining two rounds.’
Another aspirant in line for a wonderful position in this championship is M. Shabbir, the top golf professional of this country. He played a round of gross 69 on Friday and his gross aggregate for two days is 141, the stroke arrears being five as compared to Matloob Ahmed.
More aspirants in line for gainful positions are M. Khurshid at 142, Raza Ali also at 142 and Waheed Baloch at 143.
It is now a contest between champions of excellence.
