RIYADH: Saudi junior golf standout Abdulrahman Al-Mansour played the best round thus far of his young career to capture the overall Best Net title in the 2009 Alsalam Aircraft Golf Championship at Dirab Golf Club here yesterday.
The bedimpled 13-year old with a smooth free-flowing swing shot a sparkling net score of 65 in ideal playing conditions as he broke 90 with a gross 88 to upstage many of the city’s finest shotmakers in an amazing display that underscored the ever improving quality of the Saudi game.
Abdulrahman’s feat came barely a month before the Saudi national team competes in the 29th Pan Arab Golf Championship in Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE and a week after the first death anniversary of his brother Mansour, a promising 18-year old golfer who died in a car accident while on the way to Dirab golf course.
Speaking through his brother Fahad, the eldest of the four golf-playing Al-Mansour siblings, Abdulrahman said everything worked from his iron play to putting.
“I was driving the ball well,” Abdulrahman said. He was four over on the front nine and 12 over coming home. And with a 23 handicap managed to pull through despite going out of bounds twice on No. 17.
“I guess this was just my day,” Abdulrahman said of his performance. Though he racked up big numbers on some holes his solid game going out cushioned the impact of his dropped shots.
Fahad said he told Abdulrahman to just think about getting a bogey on each hole because that translates to par and in the end he still has five shots to spare with his handicap.
Bahraini Hamad Salem beat top Filipino golfer Eric Liquigan for the overall Best Gross crown. Salem fired a four-over 76 to Liquigan’s 77 in the 18-hole full handicap stroke play tournament that attracted 116 players.
But the 7-handicap Liquigan took the First Division (0-10) title with a net 70, leading a 1-2 Filipino finish after old pal Richard Gaas returned a 71. New Zealander Julian Bennett took third place on 73.
Finlay Graham and John Freel filled the first two places in the Second Division (11-18) via the countback after they both shot 70s. Pakistani Nadeem Mirza was third on 71.
In the Third Division (12-28), Khurshid Ahmed, with a 21 handicap, emerged the winner with a 70 followed by Takashi Saito (71) and Courtney Anderson (72).
Roslyne Parcevaux carded the second best net score of 68 to win the Ladies Division with Chawn Hee Lee in second place and Flore Bouzanne third place on 71 and 73 respectively. The awards for longest drive went to Phajon and Christne Belle in the men’s and ladies division and the closest to pin to Salem.
The lucky raffle draw winners were Barry Holding and Irshad Akhter who took home a Ping TN 9.5 staff bag and SR 500 gift voucher respectively.
The winners received trophies and golf merchandise during the prize distribution ceremony. Handing out the prizes was Alsalam Aircraft Company president and CEO Mohammad Nour Falata. Also present at the ceremony was Fahad Abunayyan, the Abunayyan Group deputy general manager who represented Dirab golf course owner and Saudi Golf Federation president Khaled Abunayyan.
Meantime, members of the Saudi national team leave today for Ras Al-Khaimah for a training camp and qualifying round for the Pan Arab tourney at Al Hamra Golf Club and Resort.
