RIYADH: These are exciting times for Saudi golf.
Two weeks after the Kingdom scored a historic victory in the 36th Pan Arab Golf Championship with a sweep of the team and individual trophies at Ghala Golf Club in Muscat, Oman that effectively changed the face of the Saudi game forever, members of the national team put on a dominant display Friday in the 1st Annual GIB Golf Cup 2016 at Dirab Golf & Country Club on the outskirts of Riyadh.
Leading the Saudi charge on a cool overcast day with pelting rain that made the fairways softer and allowed players to lift, clean and place the ball under winter rules, was Abdurahman Almansour, who won the Overall Best Gross title from Ali Al Sakha.
Abdurahman, 22, who has just come back from Houston, Texas in the United States where he took up English course at the University of Houston, shot a tidy even par 72 to beat Al Sakha by two shots in a tense battle between two of the most promising players from the Saudi talent pool.
Battling shot for shot in a virtual match play, Abdurahman and Ali were tied down to the closing holes.
On the par-4 17th hole, Abdurahman edged ahead with a par to Al Sakha’s bogey. Both reached the green on 18 in two, and Sakha with a chance to tie.
But that chance died even before he could address the ball, as Abdurahman drained his putt from 25 yards out for birdie. Al Sakha missed his from five feet.
“I was under pressure when I made my putt on 18,” said the bedimpled Abdurahman who mixed three birdies and three bogeys for the round.
“I was challenged all the way by Ali. But I played really well and felt comfortable with the fast greens mid round,” added Abdurahman.
Al Sakha who was part of the team that won the Pan Arab Championship that ended 37 years of futility for Saudi Arabia was not without a prize. He was second on net 72 in a 1-2-3 Saudi finish in the First Division (handicap 0-9).
Turki Al Hussain was the winner on 71 from a gross score of 76 and handicap of 5. Turki’s older brother Abdullah took third place on countback from two others in a three-way tie on 73. To break the tie backnine scores were compared with Abdullah on 35, Filipino Resty Sibug on 38 for fourth place and Mattias Ardfelt on 40 to miss out on the major prizes though he won the skill prize for closest to the pin.
Summing up his game pretty much like “two eights on the par fives”, Australian Patrick Kennedy, a doctor at King Abdulaziz Medical City with a 16 handicap won Overall Best Net honors on 68 via the countback from Ahsan Kamal.
Kamal, with a 28 handicap, had to settle for first place in Third Division (19-28 handicap) ahead of tournament host and GIB CEO Abdulaziz Al Helaissi who took the second position after yet another countback involving three players on 71.
Another Filipino Benjamin Santuyo was third and Bjarni Valtysson fourth.
Veteran Swedish golfer Ronny Lidman won Second Division (10-18) on 69 from a gross of 85 and handicap of 16. Abner Macapagal took second on 71 (87 16) to become the third Pinoy to earn a prize, while Korean Dong Soon Kang and Irish Kirwan were third on fourth on countback after both tied on 73.
The Ladies Division podium winners were Pia Engborg, Bridget Kirwan, Chan Hwi Lee and Liz Kennedy on respective scores of 73, 76, 76 and 82.
Fresh off his impressive victory in the Saudi Aramco Invitational Tournament (SAIT) recently, Faisal Salhab, another promising young Saudi golfer, was out of sorts Friday. His only consolation was the longest drive prize for men with Bridget winning the same award on the distaff side.
Along with Al Helaissi and his marketing team, golf course owner Khaled Abunayyan attended the prize giving ceremony. Also present was Dirab Golf Committee Chair Tariq Javed.
