LAHORE: Defending champion Matloob Ahmed lost the battle to Muhammad Munir after Munir came up with a brilliant performance in the final round of the 39th Punjab Open Golf Championship which concluded at the enticing PAF Skyview Golf Course here on Sunday. Though at the start of the final round Matloob was considered the likely winner, but outstanding display of golf playing skills accompanied by mental toughness enabled Munir to completely swing the flow of game in his favour. Throughout the final 18 holes, Munir appeared as the dominant one and in full command and control of the run of play. For an accomplished one like Matloob, this certainly brought dismay and misery. And though he tried hard, there was no way he could stop Munir. And glory and acclaim fell in the lap of Munir as he succeeded in crushing Matloob and other mighty adversaries like Mohammad Shabbir, Mohammad Talib, Waheed Baloch, Mohammad Shahzad and young Ahmed Baig. In the final round, Munir had a score of 67 and a three days aggregate of 206, ten under par. Shahzad, a relatively new to the national golf circuit, played remarkably well to achieve the runner-up slot with scores of 71, 71 and a sparkling 66 in the final round and a championship aggregate of 208, eight under par. As for the defending champion Matloob, he had to be content with the third position: his three round scores being 68, 70 and 71 and a total of 209, seven under par. In the amateurs section, Salman Jahangir won the first gross with scores of 70, 75 and 77 and an aggregate of 222. Qasim Ali Khan came second with a total score for three days of 224. Umar Khokhar was third in this category and his aggregate score was 230. Top position in the women’s section was won by Parkha Ijaz with Aaniya Syed as the runner-up. Suneyah Osama came third. Women’s first position in net was claimed by Laiba Shah, B Fatima won second net and Saeeda Iman Ali Shah received third prize.