Daggett-Klawikowski wins Pakistan Day Open Golf tilt

The American-Canadian pair of Rusty Daggett and Ruby Klawikowski clinched victory after only the second time of playing together as a team in the Pakistan Day Open Golf Tournament last Friday at the Dirab Golf & Country Club on the outskirts of Riyadh.
Daggett and Klawikowski, with a combined handicap of 8, shot a net score of 62 to win by one stroke from the team of Mike Jones and Jose Vigil in the two-ball Texas Scramble format competition being held annually the past five years now as part of the Pakistan National Day celebrations. Jones and Vigil finished on 63 from a gross score of 69 and handicap of 6.
“It was excellent. We played really well together as a team. Really had a lot of fun. It was a nice day,” said Klawikowski, who works at the training and development department of the Saudi Secretarial Program at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center (KFSH & RC).
The winning duo mixed four birdies with two bogeys in a round of 70 (34-36), sealing the deal when Klawikowski hit a chip-in birdie from 15 yards on the right fringe on 14, their last hole.
“We’re hitting the ball well and finding the greens. I play good when she plays bad and vice versa,” said Daggett, an administration specialist with the US Personnel at Vinnell Arabia who first teamed with Klawikowsky and two others during the RGBB four-ball Texas Scramble event recently.
Starting on No. 15, Daggett and Klawikowski parred their first holes before the Canadian lady golfer holed an eight-footer for birdie on 3 after a nice approach shot from her American playing partner. They also birdied two par-5 holes — 9 and 13 — and bogeys on 11 and 12 were the only spot on their otherwise tidy round.
Khalil Abdul Jabar and Mark Campbell won third place on countback from Shaqeel Said and Ali Shaqeel after both teams tied on 64 with the Saudi tandem of Faisal Salhab and Fahad Almansour in fifth position on 65.
Salhab and Klawikowski won the men’s and ladies longest drive award while Ronny Lidman nabbed the closes to the pin prize.
A total of 55 teams and 110 players participated in the event supported by platinum sponsor Xerox, gold sponsor Pakistan National Bank Saudi Arabia through Arsalan Siddiqui and silver sponsor M. N. Bin Rajeh & Partners Contracting Co. through Khalid Raja.
Chief guest Ambassador Naeem Khan of the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh handed over prizes to the winners with Ehab Guindi, general manager Xerox Saudi Arabia; Fahad Abunayyan, deputy GM Abunayyan Group; and Naseer Uddin Siddiqui, former Dirab Golf Committee chairman.
The next big tournament at DGCC is the Saudi Hollandi Bank Open Championship on April 12.