LAHORE - Matloob Ahmed, the second ranked golf professional of Pakistan, became the top position occupant at the end of the second round of the Zaman Family-backed 9th JA Zaman Memorial Open Golf Championship in progress here at the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course. Matloob secured access to the top of the leaderboard through resplendent handling of the golf course challenges and consummate application of golfing skills.In the course of the 18 holes golfing round on Friday, he was just marvelous on the par 4, third hole and thereafter on the par 5, 16th hole. There were a few birdies too and these were pulled off with expertise on holes 15 and then the closing 18th hole. Excellence neutralizing bogies were encountered on holes on 6th, 11th and 13th. All-in-all, the effort fetched him a spectacular gross 69 giving him a two-round aggregate of 139, five under par. This enlivens his winning chances and at the halfway mark, he appears as the top contender to the JA Zaman title for 2023, as this championship gets into the third round. Three other stars of the second round turned out to be Shahid Javed Khan and Sunny Masih of Lahore Gymkhana and M Munir of Rawalpindi Golf Club. Shahid Javed was a symbol of excellence on six holes where he recorded delight giving birdies backed by an eagle on the par-5, 16th hole. In the overall reckoning, one eagle, six birdies, eight pars and unwanted four birdies gave him a second-round score of gross 68 and a two-day aggregate of 140, four under par. He trails the leader Matloob by one stroke.
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M Munir is also placed at the score of 140 alongwith Sunny Masih, who managed a round of gross 72 on Friday and a two rounds total of 140. Another aspirant in line for a wonderful position in this championship is the South Africa-trained Minhaj Warraich, who continues to impress with his golf playing abilities. He is placed at a score of 141, three under par. Ahmed Baig is at 142, Khalid Khan and Muhammed Shahzad at 144, followed by four masterlyones M Alam, Akbar Mehroze, Waheed Baloch and Shabbir Iqbal at 145. It certainly is developing into a contest between champions of excellent golf playing ability. The first tee off today (Saturday) will take place at 8:30 am at Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course.