Salhab, Almansour win Almarai Saudi National Day golf tourney

RIYADH: Faisal Salhab and Fahad Almansour played in perfect harmony as a team and kept the Saudi pride soaring high when they won the Almarai Saudi National Day Open Golf Tournament at Dirab Golf & Country Club on Saturday.
The Saudi duo navigated the flat but challenging par-72 layout according to the game plan for a winning net score of 11-under 61 in the two-ball Texas Scramble format competition.
The Australian husband and wife tandem of Patrick Kennedy and Liz Kennedy, with four birdies and three bogeys, took second place on 62 from a gross score of 71 and team handicap of 9.
The Indian-Pakistan team of Kamal Fareed and Tariq Syed Khan clinched third place on countback over Jim Kennedy-Sean Boyd and New Zealanders Julian Bennett-John Palalagi after all three teams tied on 63. Fareed and Khan had gross score of 69 and handicap of 6, while Kennedy-Boyd and Bennett-Palalagi had identical 72 and 9.
“Right on the first hole Fahad told me we have to shoot 10 under for us to have a chance to win the tournament. We needed to win because this is our National Day event,” said Salhab, arguably the most exciting Saudi player to emerge since US-based Khaled Attieh in recent years who just turned 17 last month.
With a team handicap of 1, Salhab and Almansour did just that, holing 11 birdies against only 1 bogey in a fabulous round of 62 (28-34).
“It was amazing how much birdies we were able to make on the golf course. Eleven birdies and 14 one-putt and we hit every single hole in regulation,” said Salhab.
So efficient were Salhab and Fahad on a windless sunny day their playing partners, Prince Khaled bin Saud Al Faisal and Ali Balharith, could only watch in admiration.
“They simply played incredible golf. I’ve never seen a Saudi play this kind of game in a long time. Faisal and Fahad were at a different level today,” gushed Saudi national team coach Balharith.
Four straight birdies on their first four holes set the tone of the day for the champion pair who rattled in another four birdies on the trot after a par on No. 5 to hit the turn on 8-under 28.
The only blot was on No. 11 where they three-putted for bogey. On the par-5 ninth, they missed eagle by one inch when the ball stopped short of the cup after an up-and-down following a second shot that landed in the bunker guarding the back of the green.
Another spectacular display was when Salhab drained a long putt from 80 feet on the par-3 No. 7, the ball circling the top edge of the cup before dropping in.
They sealed victory with another birdie on 18, the third on the back nine.
The men’s and ladies longest drive awards went to Abdulrahman Almansour, Fahad’s younger brother and a member of the Saudi team, and Kennedy, while Riyan Awni took home the closest to the pin plum.
A total of 128 players and 64 teams participated in this annual event sponsored by Almarai Company.
Khaled Abunayyan, president of Saudi Golf Federation and golf course owner, and Hussam Abdulqader, head of Communications at Almarai, attended the prize distribution ceremony.
“Almarai is glad to be supporting the sport of golf and the Saudi national team. We’re happy to see Saudis winning this tournament and looking forward to again support this event in future,” said Abdulqader.
Meantime, the American Express Dirab Golf Championship, fourth leg on the MENA Golf Tour, starts with the first round on Monday.
A total of 80 players from 26 countries entered the tournament. Practice round and press conference take place Sunday.