JEDDAH: Kingdom No. 1 Othman Almulla shot a 1-over 73 to open a two-stroke lead after the first day in the 43rd Annual Saudi Aramco Invitational golf tournament yesterday.
The prestigious event which never fails to attract some of the biggest names in golf in the region including Bahrain’s best is sponsored by Saudi Aramco Golf Association (SAGA) and hosted by Rolling Hills Golf Club of Dhahran.
Almulla whose father Ibrahim works in Aramco Ras Tanura as the security technical adviser mixed four birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey in a round of 35-38.
Two shots back on 75 were the duo of Bahraini Hamad Mubarak and Khallid Alrowaiei. One stroke further back in fourth place was Hamad Alathem who fired a first round 76, four over on the beautiful but challenging 6,650-yard par 72 course. Defending champion Bouchaib El Jadiani, the Morrocan-born resident pro and manager at Dirab Golf Club in Riyadh, was tied with the veteran Bahraini pair of Abdullah Sultan and Nasser Yacoub.
Almulla said he never had the chance in the past to participate in this tournament as he was in school abroad. Now he has a realistic chance of winning the championship flight on his first attempt.
“ Having my friend Willy on the bag helped me stay relaxed throughout the round,” said Almulla in a phone interview from Dhahran.
The top 40 low gross scores including ties from Day 1 will advance to the Day 2 championship competition. The 40 players (plus ties) with the next best gross scores from the first day will be eligible to play in the 18-hole plate competition, according to the SAGA website.
The 36-hole competition ends today with the awards ceremony.
