RIYADH: Imagine a 27-handicap shooting a 91 and a scratch golfer breaking par four times over. Why not.
Helped no end by a perfect golfing weather at Dirab Golf Club, hard-hitting Juan Rosado and John Skold on Friday led a procession of players to hit sub par rounds to clinch the overall Best Net and overall Best Gross title respectively in the 2009 Sinoma Golf Championship.
Rosado, a Floridian with a 27 handicap, managed to keep his otherwise wild game in check to score 91 and emerge the Best Net winner with an eight-under net score of 64.
Skold was easily the best among the single-digit handicap players on the day to romp off with the Best Gross honors with a 68, four under on the par-72 flat but challenging tree-lined course which has been getting praises from its faithful because of its A-1 conditions.
The 18-hole full handicap stroke play competition attracted more than 100 players that vied for handsome prizes courtesy of February monthly event sponsor Sinoma International Engineering Co., which operates one of the largest cement manufacturing plants in the world with headquarters in Beijing, China. Filipino Richard Gaas of Saudi Oger clinched the First Division (0-9 handicap) title. The 7-handicap Gaas beat Robert Ruuth, who played off 6 handicap, by one shot with a 70. Korean taekwondo master M. S. Kim claimed third place on 72.
Rony Lidman was another to go low on his handicap, beating I. K. Kim for the Second Division (10-18) crown. The 17-handicap Lidman returned a 6-under 66 to Kims 67. Tariq Sardar took third place with a 4-under 68.
Another Filipino, Noel Alipoyo, a senior cameraman with OR Madarat, enjoyed a tidy round that gave him the Third Division (19-28) title on countback over Casey Blatch after they tied on 65. Alipoyo, with a 21 handicap, broke 90 with a gross score of 86, while the 24-handicap Blatch tallied 89. Alistair McIllroy rounded out the first three winners in the division on 66.
Ganet Chaplow celebrated her return to Dirab course after a long absence by winning the Ladies Division with a 68. Korean C. H. Lee (69) was a stroke back at second place and Flore Bouzanne two strokes further adrift on 71 for third place.
The award winners for longest drive were M. S. Kim and Chaplow in the men’s and ladies division, while Sandy Gupta nabbed the closest to pin plum.
Gupta was also the lucky winner of the raffle draw for Hippo set of irons with Ogio bag. A Titleist Scotty Cameron putter, the other item raffled off, was claimed by Richard Clark.
Fei Xiangye, Sinoma project manager and vice-president, attended the prize distribution ceremony along with his secretary and translator Hu Jingrong. Also present were Fahad Abunayyan, deputy general manager at Abunayyan Group, and Dirab Golf Committee Chairman Nasserudin Siddiqi.
