Fakhar Imam of Defence Raya Golf and Country Club played a spectacular round on Thursday in the fourth round of National Amateur Golf Championship in progress here at Raya Golf Course and as a result emerged on the top of the national amateur event leader board.
Besides Fakhar Imam there are 83 other golfers competing in the amateur gross section of this championship and many of them are accomplished aspirants who seek victory and a chance to pick up the national champion title for 2016. Fakhar Imam turned out to be the best one of the first round and also the only one with an under par round while quite a few others managed to demonstrate the required application of golfing skills and though they lag behind the leader, they are in position to improve their chances and standing by more excellence over the remaining three rounds.
The contenders who fall in this category are Taimur Khan of Abbotabad, M. Rehman (Royal Palm), Faisal Sayid (Royal Palm), Ghazanfar Mehmood (Rawalpindi), M. Rasel (Bangladesh), Mohsen Zafar (Gymkhana) and Waseem Rana (DHA Karachi).
The star of the first round, Fakhar Imam started the day with a regulation par on the first hole and followed it up with a birdie on the following hole and thereafter the showing was virtually blemish free except the bogies on holes 5 and 15.
All through the first round he consistently produced copybook shots and if we review his pattern of play he ended the first nine holes in 35, fetching six pars and two birdies on two holes with a bogie on the 5th hole.
On the back nine the excellence was duplicated, every shot a treat to watch and the regulation pars came in regular succession, a total of six ,with a birdie on the closing 18th hole managed through gutsy execution of the tee shot,the fairway wood shot and then the chip with a soft touch. "I am so pleased with my game of the first day",Fahkar said "and am determined to make a match of it over the next three days".
Another golfer who played extremely well is young Taimur Khan of Abbotabad Golf Club. His hitting was superb and accuracy of shot making from the fairways just perfect. He closed the first round with a score of par 72 and is placed one stroke behind the leader.
Others in the race for national honours are M. Rehman with a score of 73, followed by Faisal Sayid 74, Ghazanfar Mehmood 74, Waseem Rana 75, M. Rasel 75, and Mohsen Zafar 75.
A few more in contention are M.Farhad (Bangladesh) 76, Amer Chaudry (Defence Raya) 76, Hussain Hamid (Royal Palm) 76 and Sardar Murad (Defence Raya) 76.
In the International Team Match, the situation looks extremely tight. Pakistan A Team comprising Ghazanfar Mehmood and Ahmed Baig are placed at an aggregate score of 151 and at the same score is the Bangladesh Team comprising M. Rasel and M. Farhad.
Other teams from Iran and Afghanistan played poorly and lag behind. It is going to be a close contest between Pakistan and Bangladesh as the International Team Match concludes today. In this contest the encouraging thing for Pakistan Golf is that Ahmed Baig a seventeen year old from Lahore played with poise and composure. He has an unbelievably fabulous rhythmic swing and can hit the ball long and accurate. The team captain for Pakistan Team, Shahid Javed Khan,himself a prominent golf professional declared that, "we have found the new hope for Pakistan and in a years time with proper coaching and support, he will bring international laurels".