Aadam Syed and Hamza Taimur Amin took contrasting routes to matching three-under-par 69s on Thursday, sharing the opening-round lead at the 30th Chief of the Naval Staff Open Golf Championship at Karachi Golf Club.
Syed made his move on the inward half, carding a bogey-free back nine of 33 highlighted by birdies at the 11th, 15th, and 17th holes after turning in an even-par 36.
Amin, by contrast, surged out of the gates with an outward 34 that included a birdie on the eighth. He dipped further under par with birdies on the 11th and 13th before a six on the 15th stalled his momentum, leaving him with a 35 coming home.
The co-leaders hold a one-stroke advantage over a chasing trio on 70. Arshad Rasheed and Matloob Ahmad both closed with inward 34s to sign for two-under rounds while veteran Muhammad Munir went out in 34 and came back in 36.
Akber Mehroz set the early pace with a front-nine 33 but faded with a 38 on the back to join Waheed Baloch (36-35) in a tie for sixth at 71.
Muddasir Iqbal and Muhammad Saqib sit tied for eighth on level-par 72.
Meanwhile Waleed Bilal produced a blistering back-nine surge to card a two-over-par 74 and take a two-stroke lead in the Men's Amateur category after the opening round.
After struggling to a 42 on the front nine, Bilal ignited his round on the inward half, firing a 32 highlighted by back-to-back twos on the 11th and 12th holes followed by six consecutive fours to close out his day.
World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) player Abdullah Ansar Raja sits alone in second place after signing for a 76, splitting his card with nines of 39 and 37.
Gibran Asghar Khan is two shots further back in third at 78 after losing momentum following a strong opening nine of 37.
Muhammad Barik Ayub occupies fourth place on 81, while Muhammad Hassan Shahid, Shawaiz Ahmad Latki, and Ali Hamza share fifth spot at 82 among the players who have completed their first round.
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