RIYADH, 16 April 2008 — In the history of GCC golf it has always been Bahrain against the whole pack of pretenders to their throne.
Powerhouse Bahrain are again expected to cast their giant shadow when the 12th GCC Golf Championship kicks off with the opening ceremony today at the Riyadh Golf Club.
Bannered by veterans Nasser Yacoob, Abdullah Sultan and Hamad Mubarak, Bahrain have won the past 11 stagings of the tournament.
Could any team stop the Bahrain juggernaut? Hosts Saudi Arabia are the ones likely to give Bahrain a good fight for the championship crown with UAE looming as the darkhorse.
The Kingdom team are pinning their hopes on their No. 1 player Othman Almulla, a talented 22-year old nicknamed “Saudi Aramco Tiger”, the veteran captain Ali Balhareth, Ali Al-Sahli and Mubarak Al-Ghamdi.
Almulla and Sahli are fresh off confidence-building victories in the Fuchs Golf Championship last week in which Balhareth had a third-place finish at Dirab Golf Cub.
The Saudi team’s confidence is further bolstered by the fact that Almulla and Sahli both set the course-record of four-under 69 at RGC. And here’s the catch: Othman shot 67 during the qualifying event to pick the four-man Saudi squad.
Runner-up to individual champion Amr Abul Ela of Egypt in last January’s Pan Arab championship at Dirab, Othman will be aiming to add the crown in this event to his earlier victories in the Red Sea and Pan Arab Open in July and Qatar Open in January.
Three-time national champion Khalid Yousef will be back to spearhead the UAE cause after missing the Pan Arab tournament. Another young UAE player to watch is Ahmed Al-Mosharreck, who is based in Florida, United States where he is enrolled at the famous David Leadbetter Golf Academy on a golf scholarship from Golf in Dubai.
Saudi Golf Federation President Khaled Abunayyan said the tournament is being revived after a gap of five years and Saudi Arabia pushed to have the event after the GCC Organizing Committee moved its office to Riyadh.
The junior championship is being introduced for the first time in the history of the event under the patronage of Prince Sultan ibn Fahd, president of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare, according to Abunayyan.
All six GCC countries are represented in the three-day 54-hole competition with Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar fielding teams in the inaugural junior joust.
“The tournament preparations have been good. As for the Saudi team chances, we’re hoping to be in the top three. Of course, we’d be happy to beat Bahrain for the crown, ” said Abunayyan. “We are looking forward to a good three-day event,” he added.
Qatar golfers were the first to arrive here yesterday morning and proceeded to RGC for a practice round. In the afternoon Bahrain completed nine holes as dusk fell with Yacoob describing the course as “very challenging.”
Kuwait, Oman and UAE are all expected to arrive in time for the official practice round starting at 8 a.m. today. The opening ceremony is set for later in the day at 4:30 p.m.
