RIYADH, 31 May 2007 — Saudi Arabia and Great Britain (Expat) play Ryder Cup-style matches starting today, the sixth in the International Golf Challenge series between the sides, at the Dirab Golf Club here.
There will be six players on each side. They play four-ball better-ball morning matches and afternoon foursomes on the first day today and 6 singles matches tomorrow.
To banner the Saudi side are the trio of Othman Almulla, Satam Al-Gosaibi and Fahd Al-Mansour, who represented the Kingdom during the World Amateur Golf Team Championship in Stellenbosch, South Africa last October.
The fast-rising junior player Khaled Attieh, with a 15 handicap, joins the team as he gets his baptism of fire in a competition of this magnitude.
Almulla, a 0-handicap and Kingdom No. 1, is on a summer break from his university studies in the US. He is playing good as ever. And so are 4-handicapper Al-Mansour and Attieh, who just a week ago scored victories in the DHL Open Golf Championship.
Satam is a 9-handicap golfer with a solid short game. Saeed Al-Dosari and Omar Al-Hariri, with 10 and 11 handicap respectively, complete the Saudi lineup.
The UK team of resident golfers in the Kingdom have two single-digit handicap players in Pete Brich and the veteran Ron Cowper, who play off 8 and 9 handicap respectively. Ron Thompson and Al Crombie are both 12-handicap while the two other players on the team, Spence Hawthorn and Dave Power, are 10 and 11.
The morning session today starts at 7:16 a.m. with the afternoon matches to be played after the lunch break.
The singles matches kick off at 7 a.m.
Saudi Arabia, captained by the veteran Ali Belharith, won the last Ryder Cup-style matches 13.5-10.5 points in May last year.
The event is being organized as part of the government-to-government agreement to foster cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Britain in the field of sports, signed in 1987. BAE Systems administers the program in cooperation with the General Presidency of Youth Welfare and Saudi Golf Committee.
