RIYADH: Dirab Golf Club got the revenge it wanted against Aramco Rolling Hills Golf Club when it won the Ryder Cup-style matches with plenty to spare over the weekend at Dirab Golf Club course here.
Dirab kept the Oasis Cup in Riyadh by winning the home leg of the series at an overall score of 26.5 points to 16.5 points. This was the third straight year Dirab and Rolling Hills organized the exchange program in what has become a much anticipated event for golfers of both clubs. Dirab scored a near-sweep of the men’s four ball better ball matches on the first day of the competition on Thursday to set the tone of the runaway victory. When the day ended the scoreboard read 10-1 for Dirab golfers, who gave back as much as they received when they visited Rolling Hills Golf Club last summer. The Rolling Hills’ ladies saved the team from further humiliation when they won two out of the three fourballs against the hosts.
Twenty-nine singles matches including six in the ladies group were played on the second and final day Friday, but these did little to stop Dirab’s victory march. While the ladies of both clubs drew their matches 3-3 the Dirab men proved they have enough left in the tank, winning by 12.5-10.5. The top Dirab pair of Shafiq Masih and Jean Luc Haas beat their counterparts from Rolling Hills, Gordon Rentz and Roan Shuttleworth, to begin a string of fourballs victories broken only when Nadeem Mirza and Philip Cortejos lost to Mike Henry and Carlos Quezada. Filipino Eric Liquigan and his old pal, Richard Gaas, teamed up to down Shaan Bukhari and Jay Ward in the second group to tee off. Then the Thai pair of Vinij and Boonyeun won against Syed Rahman and Daniel McFarlane, Taj Rahman-Bryan Crawford beat Dennis Latenderesse-Mohammed Itani, Jehan Ismael-Colin Pitcairn topped Minhaj Khan-Abdulaziz Khayyal and Mansour Tirmizi won against David Kesler and Jeff Meisner.
The other first day winners for Dirab were Ali Hernandez-D. S. Kang, Francis Garcia-Ravi Shanker, Attila Soki-Rene Dupunt, and Moiz Ahmed-Nasser Uddin who beat Michael Horyza-Chuck Peterson, Eutemio Colarte-Tahr Bukhari, Mike Haas-Jerry Thomas and John D’Angelo-Oscar Reyes.
Victories by Claude Ward-Lorilee Cole and Patt Peterson-Lisa Gregory against Dirab’s Denise Holding-Junko Akito and Flore Bouzanne-Sandy Leslie proved decisive in the consolation ladies division victory of Rolling Hills. Beatriz Niemer and Sonia McFarlane was the only Rolling Hills pair that lost against Mitsuyo Takashi and C. H. Lee.
The singles results are as follows (Dirab names first): Masih beat Rentz, Haas beat Shuttleworth, Liquigan beat Bukhari, Vinij beat Ward, Paul Hansen and Syed Rahman drew, Boonyeun beat McFarlane, Brian Crawford lost to Mohammed Itani, Uddin lost to Khan, Tirmizi beat Khayyal, Pitcairn lost to Kesler, Sandy Gupta lost to Meisner, Cortejos lost to Quezada, Kang beat Horyza, Francis Garcia lost to Chuck Peterson, Mohammed Benamar lost to Colarte, Soki beat Haas, Shanker beat Tahir Bukhari, Moiz Ahmed lost to Jerry Tomas, Irshad Akhter beat D’ Angelo, Takahashi and Reyes drew, Shafiq lost to Siongco, Takahashi beat Niemer, Lee beat S. McFarlane, Junko Akito lost to Cole, Bouzanne beat P. Paterson and Mariko So lost to Gregory. The longest drive awards went to Gaas in the men’s and Niemer in the ladies division and nearest to pin to Cortejos.
