JEDDAH: Standing over a tricky 15-foot putt, Kingdom No. 1 Othman Almulla never knew he was about to make history.
All he knew was that he either wins outright or goes into a playoff.
With the confidence of a battle-scarred veteran Almulla hit the sidehiller with a right to left break, sending the ball into the cup for a birdie.
That gave Almulla a two-shot swing over Bahraini veteran Hamad Mubarak on the final hole, and the title in the 43rd Annual Saudi Aramco Invitational golf tournament in Dhahran yesterday. The young Almulla fired a 3-over 75 for a two-day total of 148 as he became the first Saudi to ever win the prestigious tournament long dominated by the Bahrainis.
Almulla’s dramatic come-from-behind victory speaks volumes for the Saudi game and gives a big boost for golf in Saudi Arabia.
“ It’s amazing win. I can’t really describe how I’m feeling right now. I’m still numb from all the emotion,” said Almulla in a phone interview from Dhahran.
“I’m really happy I just won one of the most prestigious tournaments in the region.” But the victory did not come easily. Starting the day two strokes clear of the field after an opening round 73, Almulla dropped strokes on the first three holes.
“I had a bad start today. Tough conditions, windy and the course was really hard. But it was really good tournament,” said Almulla.
Mubarak was all the while making a charge, opening a three-shot lead on Almulla going into the last three holes of the tournament.
Never one to give up, Almulla went par-par-birdie to Mubarak’s bogey-bogey-bogey to end what had shaped up as a two-way battle for the title in the championship flight.
Mubarak, who had a 75 on the first day, closed out with a 74 for a 149 total. His compatriot Nasser Yacoub took third place.
Almulla’s one-stroke victory came a week after he lost to Bahraini Sultan Abdullah in the inaugural DSCA 2008 Open at the Riyadh Golf Club in Riyadh. It also was Almulla’s second major victory of the season. He won the individual title in the 12th GCC Championship which the country hosted in April.
Close to 150 golfers participated in the oldest organized golf event in the Kingdom sponsored by Saudi Aramco Golf Association (SAGA) and hosted by Rollng Hills Golf Club of Dhahran.
