As the winner of the Volvo World Golf Challenge Saudi Arabia qualifier held at the Riyadh Golf Cub last Friday Laurente will enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to Bahrain where he will be joined by qualifiers from golf clubs across the Gulf and the rest of the world.
The RGC qualifier was limited to Division A players only to ensure the club’s representative is competitive enough for the Volvo Masters Final, according to RGC Director of Golf V. T.M. Rafi. However, since a full field of 118 participated in Friday’s qualifier there RGC provided prizes for all divisions including the ladies.
The Filipino Laurente, assistant manager-QC, Asset Management Unit Finance at Mobily, shot one of his best rounds, an 83 (45-38), since gaining an upgrade to Division A on 14 handicap.
Laurente said his short game and putting were the keys to his victory. His putting never let him down to the last. Standing over a downhill 15-foot putt from the top of the 16th hole with a left to right break, Laurente hit it pure to save par after reaching the green in three.
Laurente enjoyed a fast start, holing two birdies on his first three holes. After bogeying the par-3 17th, where he started, FGA President Laurente had a tap-in birdie on the next hole and then sank another birdie from 25 feet on the first hole after hitting his approach to the right of the green.
Laurente managed to hold his game together after twice playing his drive out-of-bounds that resulted in a triple bogey seven on No. 4 and quadruple bogey eight on 9. He dropped only two shots on his last seven holes.
The 8-handicap golfer Evans, from South Africa, settled for the Best Gross title on 77.
New Zealander Julian Bennett was the Division A (0-14 handicap) first runner-up on 72 from a gross 77 (39-38) and 5 handicap with Scott Cumming second runner-up on 70 - 81 (42-39).
Tall Hungarian Attila Soki won Division B (15-21) on 68 from a gross 88 (43-45) and 20 handicap. Rick Ball was first runner-up on 69 and Cris Coburn second runner-up on 71.
The Stableford format Division C (22-28) went to Frenchman Barth Jean Francois on 38 points. Indian Najeeb Goni and Abdulla Sofi placed second and third on 36 and 35.
Georgia Coughin, a 15-year old British student with a lovely swing, ruled the Ladies Division after compiling 39 points. Filipino Evelyn Jensen was second on 35 and Thai Nacha Biswas third on 31.
First Motor Company, distributor of Volvo in the Kingdom, sponsored the tournament. FMC General Manager David Foster brought the Volvo World Challenge to RGC and attended the prize distribution ceremony. Helping Rafi run the event were Jayakaran and Val Navarro.
