All set for 2nd Annual SGF Open Golf Championship

Saudi national team with coach Ali Belhareth, second left. Players are Othman Almulla, Saudi Al Sharif, Ali Al Sakha, and Abdurahman Almansour. (AN photo)

RIYADH: A high-profile event featuring the region’s best players will take place at Dirab Golf & Country Club when the 2nd Annual SGF Open Golf Championship 2016 starts with Thursday’s first round.
Though there were early birds to hit the tree-lined golf course located 45 kilometers southwest of Riyadh and nestled in the picturesque Tawfiq valley, the tournament week starts Wednesday with a practice round at 7:30 a.m. and opening ceremony at 12:30 p.m.
Except for Khaled Attieh all members of the Saudi national golf team are seeing action in the 54-hole stroke play competition organized by the Saudi Golf Federation and hosted by Dirab Golf & Country Club.
Less than three weeks after winning the 36th Pan Arab Golf Championship at Gala Golf Club in Muscat, the team while keen on scoring another important victory is expected to be put to the test on home soil by a welter of challengers from the Gulf let alone local expatriate players.
Bahrain, which had enjoyed a long reign at the top in both the Pan Arab and GCC levels until being usurped in the last few years, will be represented by a 23-strong contingent led by the legendary Nasser Yacoub.
Yacoub might be past his prime but he is no stranger to winning at Dirab where his memorable victories include the 2011 and 2012 Saudi Oger Amateur Golf Championship.
Also, golfers from Qatar, Oman and the UAE entered the tournament with a handicap limit of 12 and where big prizes for gross and net are up for grabs.
The Qatari duo taking part are Saleh Al Kaabi and Abdulrahman Alshahrani, with zero and one handicap respectively. Ahmed Skaik and Saif Thabet are the two national players from the UAE. Azan Rumeh and Yousef Baloshi are the two bets from Oman.
Othman Almulla, Saud Al Sharif and Ali Al Sakha, members of the victorious Pan Arab team of Saudi Arabia along with Attieh, played practice round on Tuesday as did Saudi national coach Ali Belhareth. Abdurahman Almansour, who won the Overall Best Gross crown in the 1st Annual GIB Golf Cup at Dirab last Friday, also joined his teammates at practice.