JEDDAH, 4 May — Mrs. Key De Kim was declared the overall winner of the First Mercedes Benz Invitational Golf Tournament 2001 held at Durrah Golf Club here recently. Key was the tournament’s third division winner, the first two division winners are Paul Bruno and Muhammad Farooq.
The event attracted 112 competitors who teed off at 7 a.m. on a Friday to battle the Durrah Golf Course, with everyone wanting to be part of the first golf team to represent Juffali Automotive Company and Saudi Arabia on the international stage.
Each group of players was greeted by Wayne Westner prior to tee off, with words of wisdom and advice. Wayne is a winner of 14 professional tournaments worldwide, including the Dubai Dessert Classic in 1993, two South African Opens and the World Cup of Golf in partnership with Ernie Els in 1996 by the largest ever winning margin of 18 strokes, and is a regular member of the South African Dunhill Cup Team.
The Durrah Golf Course was in great condition, the winds were strong and the completion fierce. Everybody had a great day and an opportunity to rub shoulders with one of the world’s former top 40 professional golfers.
For the inauguration of the maiden tournament in the Kingdom, something special was done by inviting a world renowned tournament golf professional. Juffali Executive Ray Byrne, a prominent amateur golfer in Ireland in the late 1970s and early 1980s, contacted golf friend Wayne.
To the delight of the Juffali Automotive Company (JAC) and the golfing community in Jeddah, Wayne accepted the invitation and traveled from his home in Ireland to Jeddah in style on a Swissair flight arriving four days prior to the tournament.
He played an exhibition match the day before the tournament with Ray Byrne, Ahmad El Mehelmey and Bill Ash. Many members turned up to watch as Wayne demonstrated his skills and talent to perfection.
This also gave the golf community an opportunity to see a top professional at work.
The tournament was conceived and formed as a result of an invitation from Daimler Benz Germany to JAC to send a team of three golfers to compete in the Mercedes Benz world finals in Stuttgart, Germany in September this year.
Under the rules of the Mercedes Benz World Finals, each competing country must hold a regional tournament divided into three handicap divisions (0 to 10, 11 to 18, and 19 to 36 including women), the winner of each division forming the team.
