DOHA:
Pakistan’s Omar Khalid Hussain secured fourth position in the 38th Qatar Open Golf Championship at the Doha Golf Club after carding a final round score of three-over-par 75 on Saturday.
The 19-year-old Omar was at third place behind England’s Calum Fitzgerald and Qatar’s Saleh Al Kaabi after the 17th hole in the final round. He went for a risky approach shot on the par-5 18th in a bid for an eagle only to finish with a bogey and had to settle for fourth place behind Ireland’s Keith Crawley, who finished third.
“I was taking risks to finish strong in the championship,” said Omar, who was the only Pakistani in a field of almost 100 players representing 30 countries. Fitzgerald, who carded 76 in the final round, won the title and earned the right to play in the prestigious Qatar Masters, a European Tour event.
“I had a chance to win this coveted title but was unable to putt well on the fast greens which were completely different to what we have back home,” said Omar who had rounds of 75, 76, 75 in the 54-hole championship, regarded among the major amateur events in the region. He finished sixth in the Qatar Open last year.
Omar, who has the record of being the youngest ever national amateur champion of Pakistan, started the final round on a shaky note with bogeys on holes1 and 3 before making birdies on holes 4,6 and 7. He finished front nine at 36 but had a bit of a disaster after the turn with a double bogey on the 10th hole. He made a birdie on hole 14 for a 39 on the back nine of the wind swept DGC course which spans over 7500 yards.
