Pakistani teen Ahmed wins Qatar amateur title

RisingPakistani teen Ahmed Baig has won a dream spot in this February’sCommercial Bank Qatar Masters after his final round 70 gave him aone-shot victory in the Qatar Open Amateur Golf Championship at the DohaGolf Club yesterday.The talented 19-year-old from Lahore aggregatedthree-under par 213 over three rounds after recording a birdie on thefinal hole yesterday, and in the process dashed the hopes of overnightleader, Morocco’s Ayoub Id Omar, who finished one shot behind, on 214.“Iam over the moon to get the chance of playing with some of the bestprofessionals at the Qatar Masters,” Baig said after his victory.“Iplayed aggressive and took my chances. By God’s grace I got the crucialbirdie and won this big event on my first appearance in the tournament,”he added.Baig had won the Faldo Challenge earlier this month inKarachi and also pocketed victories in international amateur tournamentsin Iran and Sri Lanka earlier.Baig went for the kill after parringthe 17th hole. His chip to the final hole went past the pin and rolledback, leaving him with a three-and-a-half feet birdie putt which heeasily managed to pip Omar.Second-placed Omar was disappointed,having posted 69 and 72 in the first two rounds before a 73 in the finalround ruined his chances.“I did not play as well as I expected. Ihave no complaints with the conditions, they were ok. I put myself undera lot of pressure and also my short game was not working well,” saidthe 21-year-old Omar. Mats Markovits was third among the amateurs andformer winner Jakub Hrinda fourth.In the professional category, itwas England’s Joshua White who triumphed, a 70 in the final round givinghim a three-under 213 aggregate following a strong back nine.White earned QR7,000 and will also get to play the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters as a reward for his efforts. Two-timewinner on the European Tour, Simon Khan, finished second with a totalof 221, eight shots off the pace, while Jean-Michel Hall was third with222, completing an English sweep of the first three spots among theprofessionals.As expected Ali al-Shahrani and Saleh Ali al-Kaabiwere the best among the Qataris in contention and will get to play inthe Masters. Al-Shahrani, who missed the 2017 event to concentrate onhis studies, carded a five-over 77 for an eight-over 224 to finish 14thoverall, while last year’s runner-up al-Kaabi was a joint 21st after athird-round 78 to collect 16 over 232.Qatar Golf AssociationExecutive Director Mohamed Faisal al-Naimi and board member MohamedIbrahim al-Mohannadi, gave away the prizes.