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BAHRAIN claimed the GCC Golf Champion_ship, which concluded on Saturday at the Riyadh Golf Course in Saudi Arabia, for the 12th successive time.
On the third and final day, the Bahrain team members maintained their momentum to extend their domination on the annual 54-hole competition, which they have won since it began in 1996.
Bahrain extended their reign at the top as they overcame the tough conditions on a day of soaring scores to clinch the title by a massive 24 strokes.
The champions were followed by hosts Saudi Arabia whose top player Othman Al Mulla claimed a four-stroke victory over Bahrain's veteran Sultan Al Hakam, who came second, for the individual honours.
Saudi Arabia ended 34 strokes ahead of the UAE who rounded off the podium with a third-place finish, followed by Oman, Kuwait and Qatar in fourth, fifth and sixth positions, respectively.
On the second day of the championship, Bahrain totalled 448 strokes with Saudi Arabia scoring 240 on the day, totalling 469 as Ali Al Sahli returned a 78 and Mubarak Al Ghamdi an 85 in addition to Othman's 77.
Other members of the Bahraini team were Abdulla Al Hakam, Hamad Mubarak and Nasser Yacoob who respectively came third, fourth and fifth in the individual competition.
The Bahraini delegation was led by Bahrain Golf Association member captain Adel Ali Fayaz. The team returned on Saturday night soon after the presentation ceremony.
"We are very happy to win again," said Fayaz.
"We have a lot of good players. But we would like to send our strongest teams in competitions like the Pan-Arab and GCC. And besides our veterans keep qualifying for the national team," said Fayaz referring to the trio of Mubarak, Abdulla and Yacoob.
The official sponsor of the three-day tournament was Attieh Group with support from Al Safi Danone.
Meanwhile, General Organi_sation for Youth and Sports (Goys) president Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa congratulated members of the team on their achievement.
Shaikh Fawaz highlighted the outstanding performance of the Bahraini golfers throughout the championship.
The Goys chief underlined this victory to the continued support of His Majesty King Hamad to the team in specific and to golf in general.
He said such results will be a major boost to other national teams in future regional and international competitions.
