Muhammad Shabbir and Muhammad Munir etched their names in the history books as they guided Pakistan to their first Omega Mission Hills World Cup on Saturday.
The unheralded Pakistani duo shot a superb three-under-par 68 in the final round foursomes at Seri Selangor Golf Club to finish third at the Asian qualifier, which was won by pre-tournament favourites Singapore.
Represented by Lam Chih Bing and Mardan Mamat, Singapore carded a closing 72 for a four-day total of 15-under-par 269 to finish one shot ahead of Philippines pair Mars Pucay and Angelo Que.
The top three qualify for the World Cup, which takes place in China in November.
A World Cup appearance continues to elude the Malaysian pair of Iain Steel and Danny Chia as they ended fourth after a battling 71 while Myanmar finished a further three strokes behind following a 74.
"Pakistan have played in the cricket World Cup, hockey World Cup and squash World Cup but never before in our history that we've been in golf's World Cup," said a delighted Munir.
"I don't know how to describe how we feel right now. I'm sure everyone in Pakistan will be very happy," he added.
Pakistan mixed their scorecard with four birdies against two bogeys before nailing a crucial final birdie on the 18th hole to seal a historic debut against the worlThree teams from these qualifiers will make the cut for the main round in China.
'We are in the run for the main round. Today's play will be crucial,' the Secretary General of Pakistan Golf Federation, Taimur Hassan, told APP.
Pakistan had narrowly missed the qualification last year.
The following were respective Day 1 scores of the 13 participating teams:--Philippines (11-under 60), Singapore (seven- under 64, Malaysia (five-under 66), Hong Kong (five-under 66), Myanmar (four-under 67), Pakistan (three-under 68), Indonesia (two- under 69), Bangladesh (two-under 69), Nigeria (one-under 70), Sri Lanka (one-under 70), Brunei (three-over 74) and Mauritius (six-over 77).d's best.
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