RIYADH, 24 November 2005 — Brimming with confidence, the Saudi national golf team yesterday left for Egypt to represent the Kingdom in the 26th Arab Golf Championship.

Team captain Ali Belhareth, Ali Al-Sahli and Sattam Al-Gosaibi along with Saudi Golf Committee officials Yousef Al-Mahfouz and Ali Al-Soheim comprise the main group of the Saudi delegation who left from Riyadh.

They will be joined by promising young golfer Othman Al-Moualla, who’s flying straight to Cairo from the United States where he is pursuing his university studies. The fifth player on the team, Mohammad Al-Khaldi, was unable to join the trip because of ill health.

The Saudi Golf Committee President Sheikh Khaled Abunayyan is expected to follow the team either on Saturday or Monday in time for the first round of the competition at Dreamland Golf Club located just a few kilometers from the Pyramids in Cairo.

The team has had an intensive training for more than a week under the watchful eyes of coach Kamal Gartite, the newly-arrived Moroccan golf professional at Dirab Golf and Recreation Center.

Gartite liked the Kingdom’s chances in the annual Pan Arab event and boldly declared the team is “ready to win.”

The team has got what it takes, the players’ fundamentals are sound and they do mechanics perfect, he said.

“It’s all a matter of course management and being prepared mentally,” he added.

While Gartite was upbeat, Abunayyan employed guarded optimism in rating the team’s chances saying they will aim for a top four finish.

Bahrain are the defending team and individual champions in the tournament organized by the Arab Golf Federation with 14 member countries. In addition to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, the other AGF-affiliated countries are Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Tunisia and UAE.

Ladies Captain Open

Golf Tournament

Meantime, lady golfers, all 56 of them, took over the fairways of Dirab course recently during the Ladies Captain Open Golf Tournament. The players were of various nationalities, among them, European, American, Asian and African. Theresa Wade is the Dirab golf ladies team captain. The Ambrose Texas Scramble format event was won by the team of Genet Berta, Hewan Abrahaley, Irma V. Ballegooyen and Charlotta Skala with a 74.

Two strokes back in second place were the team of Dian Banfield, Mrs. Noh, Vicki Smith and Claire Holliday.

In third place at 79 were Ingrid Lind, De Parcevaux, Lisa Van Hewten and Ulla Britt. Eveline Marko, Rohanda Otaibi, Amour Monique and Hae S. Lim tallied 80 for fourth position.

Capping the fun tournament was the grand raffle draw of two return air tickets to Casablanca courtesy of Moroccan Airlines which were won by De Parcevaux and K. J. Choi.

A total of 40 prizes were given away in the tournament organized by DGRC Golf Division Manager Bouchaib El Jadiani and sponsored by Moroccan Airlines, French Corner, Dirab Golf Club and SPA.