Sport

Goosen's team clinch thriller

November 19 - 25, 2008

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After all the excitement of Colin Montgomerie's historic commemorative 1st tee shot on the newly completed Riffa Views' 18-hole championship course, The Montgomerie, it was straight down to action as the course was played for the very first time in the opening event of the Riffa Views Invitational.

And the very first competitive event could not have been tighter - a tie, split only on count-back.

The seven superstars - top professional golfers Colin Montgomerie, Retief Goosen, Michael Campbell and Camilo Villegas, together with the legendary Sir Steve Redgrave, Kapil Dev and Boris Becker - all led teams in an 18 hole Pro-Celebrity-Am competition, made all the more interesting for everyone involved by the switching of teams by the stars after nine holes. Each of the teams also included one of the professionals from The Royal Golf Club at Riffa Views, led by general manager Mike Braidwood, and members of the Bahraini and Saudi national teams.

In all 56 players stepped out onto the fairways of 'The Montgomerie' with the feeling that they were being given a very special opportunity - being able to say in the future, when 'The Montgomerie' takes its rightful place in the world's top courses, that they were there the day Monty hit the first tee shot and they were amongst the first players to play the great course.

And if that were not enough, the winning teams and spot prize winners were able to take those memories one step further - to be the first competitive winners on the new course, with the added excitement of a tie at the top of the leader-board, broken by a count-back of scores on the back nine.

The prize-giving ceremony was conducted on the 18th green with a sizeable gallery of spectators.

The Riffa Views Invitational Trophy was handed to Goosen by Goys president Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and Richard Browning, CEO of Riffa Views.

Cheques were then presented to each player for donation to their desired charities. Goosen complimented Monty on his magnificent new course and welcomed the increase in golf in the region.

THE WINNERS

First Place Retief Goosen's team (Nasser Yacoub, Mike

Eastwood, Emma Boyd, Rob Lane, Murtuz

Zamanly, Badea Esbai, John Sutcliffe)

Net score 277 (138 count-back)

Second Place Boris Becker's team (Othman Abdulla, Andrew

Love, Alan Horne, Rob Killick, David Wales, Des

Prunty, Verelene Burkinshaw)

Net score 277 (144 count-back)

Third Place Kapil Dev's team (Colin Ferguson, Ebrahim Esbai,

Warren Hill, Linda Simpson, Robin Hiseman, Arun

Varma, Ebrahim Al Khalifa)