Korean taekwondo master M. S. Kim, one in a line of familiar faces to win on a regular basis at Dirab, shot probably the round of his life, a 5-under 67, to clinch Best Gross honors in windy conditions.
Faisal Salhab, touted as the best young Saudi talent to emerge after Khaled Attieh, won the First Division (0-9) with a 71, extending his run of victories to three having won Best Gross titles in the Wartsila Open in December and Qatar Airways Open in January.
Sean Boyd, a dedicated golfer who spends at least three hours on the driving range honing his game, deservedly won the Second Division (10-18) crown with a net score of 66 from a gross 82 and 16 handicap.
Green, with a 22 handicap, also won first place in the Third Division (19-28) to make his first tournament success all the sweeter.
Starting at No. 11, Green carded nines of 43-42 for a gross 85. A triple bogey seven on the par-4 18 and double bogeys on 6 and 16 blotted an otherwise excellent round for Green who birdied 9 and 17 and had five pars and eight bogeys.
A scratch golfer, Kim could not seem to do anything wrong on the par-72 6,756-yard layout. His outward nine of 34 contained three straight birdies from the fifth hole against a bogey on 8. Kim had a birdie-birdie finish to complete his round with a flourish, and made his only other bogey on No. 11 while shooting further birdies on 12 and 14, which are both par-4 holes.
Sub par rounds galore despite a difficult course setup, prompting DGCC Golf Manager Bouchaib El Jadiani to rule that a player’s handicap would be cut straight away if he shoots under par.
The event started exclusively for Pakistanis in 2009 and has since grown, being made open to all from 2010 and getting bigger in terms of size of the field and prizes on offer.
Rabie Fares came second to the 7-handicap Salhab on 72. The next three places went to Saudi national player Fahad Almansour 76, William El Fakr 78 and Stephen Mature 80.
Irfan Mufti was four strokes back in second at 70 in the Second Division. Sandy Gupta, William Green and Todd Bergin took the third, fourth and fifth places on countback after they tied on 71.
Radisson SAS Riyadh Hotel Area Manager Mohamed Benamar, with a 20 handicap, was second to Green on 64 followed by Khaled Raja 65, Lance Jones 66 and Kanamoto Yoshio 67.
John Reinert and Rob Smith claimed the prizes for longest drives and closest to the pin. The raffle draw prizes were as lovely as the major ones with Tony Cowden, Hameed Imran, and Ahmed Moiz taking home Sony laptop computer, Titleist golf bag and digital camera in that order. The other raffle winners were Jim Kennedy (HP 4-in-1 pritner), Cris Agunos (handmade carpet), Brian Stider (Adams golf club), Richard Bridgeford and Mohamad Sofi (DVD player), Dustin Staab (Logitech music system), Ray McPherson, Jones (EFX wrist band), Derrick Williams, Spence Hawthorn, William Green, Najeeb Goni, Tariq Khan and Reinert (golf visor).
Pakistan Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Ayaz Muhammad Khan distributed the prizes during the awards ceremony along with Dirab Golf Committee Chairman Nassser Uddin Siddiqui.
On behalf of course owner and Saudi Golf Federation President Khaled Abunayyan, El Jadiani thanked the Pakistani community for helping grow the game of golf in the Kingdom.
The sponsors of the tournament are: Zaas Group, Sadal Group, M.N.B. Rajeh & Partners, Pak Elektron Limited, Smart T Control System, Pakistan Embassy, Al-Yahya Trading & Contracting, Riyadh Cement Company, Arab News and Dirab Golf & Country Club.
