RIYADH: The underdog Filipino team of Dennis Catapang and Verlie Quindoza played good enough golf to win the 2nd Annual Emirates NBD Open Golf Tournament 2017 on Saturday at Dirab Golf & Country Club on the outskirts of Riyadh.
Catapang and Quindoza combined for a winning net score of 63 as they bested the field in the two-ball Texas Scramble format competition sponsored by Emirates NBD bank.
Starting at No. 7, Catapang and Quindoza birdied two of their last three holes — Nos. 4 and 6 — in a strong finish that gave them a one-stroke victory from the tandem of Graham Gunn and Kapila Nanayakkara, who in turn won on countback for second place from the Korean pair of Dong Soon Kang and Chan Whi Lee.
The winning Pinoy duo carded nines of 34-38. They also birdied the par-3 11th hole, with bogey on 10 and double-bogey on the par-5 13 as their only dropped shots in an otherwise tidy round.
Gunn-Kapila and the Koreans matched net scores of 64 but when the backnine scores were compared to break the tie the former prevailed 36-37.
Saudi national team standouts Faisal Salhab and Abdurahman Almansour, the strongest pair in the field with 1 handicap, won the fourth position in yet another countback from Kamal Fareed and Tariq S. Khan.
Salhab and Almansour, who are both part of Team Saudi Arabia seeing action in the GCC Championship in Bahrain Feb. 17-21, and Fareed-Khan tied on 65. Salhab and Almansour had 33 to 35 by Fareed-Khan, who settled for fifth place to round out the winners.
Salhab won the longest drive award for men, Bridget Kirwan claimed the same accolade for ladies and Lara Fridjonsdottir nabbed the closest to the pin plum.
Emirates NBD CEO Loai Abduljawad attended the prize distribution ceremony and handed over the prizes to the winners assisted by Dirab Committee Chair Tariq Javed.
Catapang and Quindoza combined for a winning net score of 63 as they bested the field in the two-ball Texas Scramble format competition sponsored by Emirates NBD bank.
Starting at No. 7, Catapang and Quindoza birdied two of their last three holes — Nos. 4 and 6 — in a strong finish that gave them a one-stroke victory from the tandem of Graham Gunn and Kapila Nanayakkara, who in turn won on countback for second place from the Korean pair of Dong Soon Kang and Chan Whi Lee.
The winning Pinoy duo carded nines of 34-38. They also birdied the par-3 11th hole, with bogey on 10 and double-bogey on the par-5 13 as their only dropped shots in an otherwise tidy round.
Gunn-Kapila and the Koreans matched net scores of 64 but when the backnine scores were compared to break the tie the former prevailed 36-37.
Saudi national team standouts Faisal Salhab and Abdurahman Almansour, the strongest pair in the field with 1 handicap, won the fourth position in yet another countback from Kamal Fareed and Tariq S. Khan.
Salhab and Almansour, who are both part of Team Saudi Arabia seeing action in the GCC Championship in Bahrain Feb. 17-21, and Fareed-Khan tied on 65. Salhab and Almansour had 33 to 35 by Fareed-Khan, who settled for fifth place to round out the winners.
Salhab won the longest drive award for men, Bridget Kirwan claimed the same accolade for ladies and Lara Fridjonsdottir nabbed the closest to the pin plum.
Emirates NBD CEO Loai Abduljawad attended the prize distribution ceremony and handed over the prizes to the winners assisted by Dirab Committee Chair Tariq Javed.
