Yacoub leads by 3 in Saudi Oger Amateur Golf tilt

Defending champion Nasser Yacoub played steady golf in near-perfect conditions to open a three-shot lead after the first round in the 4th Saudi Oger Amateur Golf Championship 2012 at Dira Golf & Country Club.
Little more than a week after winning the individual trophy in the Pan-Arab Championship in his home country Bahrain, in-form Yacoub fired a 1-under 71 yesterday on the flat but challenging Dirab layout with 2009 winner Korean M. S. Kim and Morgan Meed in a tie for second on 74.
Abdulrahman Almansour was the best-placed Saudi after the first day in the 36-hole prestige event. He shot 75, four off the pace and in the thick of things going into the final round today.
Five strokes further back in fifth place was another Bahraini Nabeel Mohammed who signed for a 76 while long-hitting Saudi national team standout Faisal Salhab was on 77 along with Khaled Al-Aathem of Bahrain.
A big group on 78 included Saudi national team players Fahad Almansour, Omar Hariri and Turki Hussain.
Yacoub likes the golf course so much he keeps coming back. Yesterday, however, Yacoub found it difficult to handle with tough pin positions although he raved about the lush fairways.
After a bogey on No. 6 Yacoub birdied the next two holes for a 35 going out.
He stabbed an 8-iron to two feet and made the putt on the par 3 7th hole. He then converted a birdie try from 10 feet on No. 8, par 4 hole that he played conservatively with a 6-iron off the tee.
Yacoub, who still got game at 50 though he needed to employ crafty course management to compensate for distance loss, recovered a dropped shot on 11 with a birdie on 18 giving him a level par 36 coming in.
With a 3-stroke lead Yacoub said he will just play his normal game today to try and defend his title.
Abdulrahman mixed two birdies and three bogeys on his front nine of 37. He bogeyed the 10th hole and the par 5 13 for his only dropped shots on the back side.
Filipino Rem Sibug, a 14-year old high school student at Palm Crest International School, made the shot of the day, an eagle two on the sixth hole.
Driving from the red tee, the promising junior golfer drove to the back of the green and his chip found the cup to record the first eagle of his young career.
The low net of the day belonged to Richard Salisbury ad Anjum Mulla who tied on 6-under 65.
The top 43 gross scores and top 32 net made the cut and will play the final round today.
Yacoub plays in the last group teeing off at 8:12 a.m. along with Kim, Mead and Abdulrahman.
The second to last group at 8:04 a.m. features the Saudi duo of Fahad Almansour and Salhab and the Bahraini pair of Mohammed and Al-Aathem.
A gala dinner was held on the eve of the tournament Wednesday in which Saudi Oger Ltd. Vice Chairman Sheikh Ouday Al Shaikh and Dirab Group Chairman Mohammed Abunayyan exchanged souvenir crystal swords. Also present was Saudi Golf Federation president and Dirab golf course owner Khaled Abunayyan.
"We are very delighted to have this tournament for the fourth consecutive year. Also, we are very happy for the presence of players from the GCC and Jordan and we hope to have a very successful tournament as usual," said Al Shaikh.