RIYADH: Korean M. S. Kim showed nerves of steel to win the 2009 Saudi Oger Amateur Golf Championship in a three-way sudden-death playoff at the Dirab Golf and Country Club on Friday.
In a thrilling finale to what is effectively the Kingdom’s national championship the veteran Kim beat Kingdom No. 1 Othman Almulla and Bahraini ace Nasser Yaqoub during the playoff on the 18th hole. Yaqoub fell out with a bogey while Othman and the taekwondo master Kim made pars.
On the second extra hole, Kim saved par to stay alive from six feet after Othman had made his from tap-in distance following an approach that landed 10 feet from the cup.
Othman, the first-round leader, and Kim went back to the 18th tee for the third time in the playoff in gathering darkness, as the two men left standing battled for the prestigious championship (Best Gross) flight of the two-day 36-hole competition.
Kim, representing the expatriate golf community, found the bunker to the left guarding the green after hitting his second shot from the hard pan while Almulla, the poster boy of Saudi golf, had to punch out from the trees and flew the green with a sand wedge from 120 yards.
The mistake cost Almulla the title. He chipped to within three feet from the back of the green but missed the putt while Kim, drawing on his wealth of experience, went up and down to two feet and sank the clincher.
“I just did what I had to do from my position in the bunker. I was thinking of nothing but to execute,” said Kim, one of the finest golfers at Dirab who earns a living by teaching taekwondo in Riyadh.
Othman was philosophical in defeat.”I put myself in position to win. Sometimes you gain more in losing than winning,” he said.
“I am very proud to say the tournament has been very successful. All are winners and no losers. Because at the end of the day everyone has had a nice game,” said Saudi Golf Federation president and Dirab golf couse owner Khaled Abunayyan during the awards and closing ceremony of the event.
Saudi Oger Ltd. Director of Corporate Communications Mazen Fayed handed over prizes to the winners. Besides Fayed the other sponsor representatives who attended the ceremony were Abdelkader Boujdoun of Royal Air Maroc and Mohammad Benamar of Radisson Blu.
On the back nine of the final round at least four players had a chance to win. Yaqoub was leading at five under for the tournament with Kim at six under, Othman at seven and Attieh at eight after the 14th hole.
Attieh picked up a shot when he birdied the 16th while Yaqoub dropped shots in two of the last four holes including the 18th where he missed from five feet for a bogey and blew the chance to win the title outright.
Othman and Yaqoub forged a playoff when they managed to make pars on the last hole with Attieh, widely considered the future of Saudi golf, missing the chance to join when a weak chip left him with a bogey.
Kim, Almulla and Yaqoub all had a two-day total of 151 with Attieh on 152 and Robert Ruth on 155, as they emerged the first five winners in the Best Gross category.
In the Best Net category, the Men’s Division winners were Abdullah Hussein champion 133, Talal Sarieddine first runner-up 140, Resty Sibug second runner-up 143; Junior Division Abdulrahman Al Mansour champion 150, Turki Al Hussain first runner-up 152,Valentine Graus second runner-up 169; Ladies Division Anne Bjornstad champion 134, C. H. Lee first runner-up 130, Ganet Chaplow second runner-up 141.
The Plate Division winners were Majid Shoruor, Karen Bridgeford and Louie Barker who also nabbed the longest drive award for the ladies over two days.
The men’s longest drive awards went to George Mackay and Kim and the closest to pin accolades to Mubarak Al Ghamdi and James Shin.
