RIYADH: M.S. Kim and Marwan Koussa emerged the winning pair after a tight battle yesterday in the Xerox Corporate Golf Challenge 2009 at Dirab Golf Club.
Kim, a Korean taekwondo master, and Koussa, a Lebanese businessman in Riyadh, won first place on back nine countback over two other pairs after all three teams in the two ball better ball Texas scramble competition tied on 65.
Second place went to the Indian-Pakistani tandem of Taj Rahman and Askari Naqvi whose back nine of 34 was better than the 36 posted by the third-ranked Pakistani duo of Ijaz Naqshbandi and Aftab Ahmed, who shot an unebelievable 29 on the front nine to be in the title hunt.
With the victory in this second qualifying round of the regional tournament Kim and Koussa will now be invited to play in the grand final at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai in December.
Fifty-seven two-man teams and 114 players participated in the second round of this year’s championship, which has witnessed a great response from leading golfers in the region with a total record number of 210 teams of 420 players already signed up for the event.
“The tournament went really well, especially taking into consideration that the 114-player field is a new record since the event began 12 years ago,” said Ayman Mattar, business development manager, Xerox Middle East & Africa.
“As we move on with the championship I am sure we are going to witness more exciting rounds which will be played across the GCC,” he said.
The leading teams can now look forward for a chance to participate in the grand final and win a place in the Abu Dhabi Championship Pro-Am, to be held in January 2010.
Winners of the special prizes division sponsored by Ecco golf shoes were: Abdurahman, longest drive, men’s division; Mitsuyo Saito, longest drive, ladies division; and Tom Trimble, nearest to the pin.
Peter Dadzis, president and COO of the Olayan Group, Ehab Guindi, GM Xerox SA, and Khaled Abunayyan, owner of Dirab golf course, handed out prizes to the winners. Also present at the awards ceremony were Xerox Marketing Manager Halim Ammoura and Dirab Golf Club Manager-Golf Professional Bouchaib El Jadiani.
The 2009 championship is sponsored by HSBC and Dell. Troon Golf is managing the championship for a seventh consecutive year, while other sponsors include Crystal Gallery, Ecco and Renaissance Dubai Hotel. Khaleej Times is the tournament’s official newspaper and Middle East Golfer is the official golf magazine.
The 2009 Xerox Corporate Golf Challenge qualifiers will be held as follows:
Round 3: June 4 at Sharjah Golf Club Round 4: June 6 at Riffa Golf Club, Bahrain Round 5: Sept. 3 at Arabian Ranches Golf Club, Dubai Round 6 Oct. 8 at The Montgomerie, Dubai Round 7: Oct. 22 at The Els Club, Dubai Round 8: Nov. 28 at Doha Golf Club, Qatar Grand Final: Dec. 10 at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
