RIYADH: The husband and wife team of Sietaro Tsukuda and Mami Tsukuda representing Japan won the Nations Cup golf tournament, beating Richard Clarke and Matt Martin of the UK in the final, 3 and 2, at Dirab Golf Club on Thursday.
The awards ceremony took place after the final match of the two ball better ball match play competition that began with an eight-team field on April 30. Dirab Golf Club Manager and PGA Golf Professional Bouchaib El Jadiani handed out the trophy to the winning team.
All four players from the finalist teams received Dirab logoed shirt. Also, Japan's flag will fly at the club symbolic of the Tsukudas victory.
In the semifinals, the Tsukudas took out Wales's Phil Armstrong and Phil Davies while Clarke and Martin brushed aside another husband and wife tandem of D. S. Kang and C. H. Lee from South Korea.
Dirab Ladies May Monthly Medal
Meantime, the Dirab Ladies Group organized the May Monthly Medal tournament to end its 2008-2009 season on Tuesday. Madele Burger and Mitsuyo Saito emerged the overall net and low gross winners of the tournament with a 67 and 91, respectively.
Denise Holding won the Alpha Group crown on countback over Vivien Sanderson after both players returned a matching 73s.
Aelis Sarieddine emerged the Beta Group winner on 76. There was no Beta Group runner-up because the overall net winner came from this group where the other players withdrew due to the extreme heat of the day.
Liz Dugan and Jana Tichy were the first two winners in the Omega Group on 71 and 72, while the longest drive and closest to pin awards went to Sanderson and Cristina Alabart. Paroomita Mukherjee was the lucky winner of the raffle prize of Radisson SAS Hotel dinner voucher for two.
Dirab Ladies Group captain Theresa Wade also presented the following annual awards: Sportsmanship 2009 Award - Darlene Kindrachuk, Lowest Gross score - Mami Tsukuda who shot 88 in January and April and Lowest Net score - Flore Bouzanne who shot 64 in February. The awards covered the eight-month season from Oct. 2008 to May 2009.
Mohammad Benamar, general manager of Radisson SAS Riyadh Hotel, sponsored the monthly medal events of the group.
