Plain sailing for Saleh

Qatar’s National team player Saleh Ali Al Kaabi emerged as the champion after two days of action in the nail-biting 54th Bahrain Open Championship held at Awali Golf Club.

At the close of play on Day 1, after all the results were collated, five players had finished under the course par 70 and the top three players would play together on Day 2.

This leading group consisted of six-time former champion Nasser Yacoob, Saleh Ali Al Kaabi both with gross 67, (-3) along with Saqer Al Noaimi who was one stroke behind with gross 68 (-2).

Chasing them and making his debut this year was Rory Young from Al Ghazal GC in Abu Dhabi 69 (-1) together with Nabeel Mohammed Saabt also 69 (-1). Joining them on Day 2 was Mohammed Diab Al Noaimi 71 (+1).

Abdulla Al Hakam 71 (+1) led the third group accompanied by the club’s own PGA professional Matt Chalmers, and former champion Dave Park from Wishaw GC, both on 72 (+2).

The leading group started strongly with the leading position changing frequently amongst all three throughout the afternoon. However, Al Noaimi capitalised on his flawless bogey-free front nine, recording 2-under, so after 27 holes, the top three players were even, at 4-under.

With three holes to go, it was still a three-way tie. Saqer dropped a shot on the 16th but as they approached the final hole, with only one stroke difference between him and the other two, it was still anybody’s for the taking.

The crowd was on tenterhooks as they gathered around the brown to get a better view of the action.

Al Noaimi was first to putt, he sunk it for a birdie to finish on -3. Next was Yacoob who missed by inches ending on -3 giving an opportunity to Al Kaabi to win.

Al Kaabi didn’t buckle under the pressure and holed out his final putt to claim the Championship on -4.

Young, Saabt and Mohammed D. Al Noaimi encountered some problems on Day 2, resulting in a slide down the leaderboard. In contrast, Hamad Mubarak Al Afnan and Ronan Armstrong both had a superb second day returning gross 69 (-1) and moved up the list.

Club Captain Bill Scarth commenced the post-golf formalities by paying tribute to departing member Steve Brown who has served on the committee in numerous roles since 2011. Steve has volunteered his time and experience throughout and he has helped many fledgling members in the process.

Sponsors A&E, Airmech, Al Haddad, Coca-Cola and Bapco were all mentioned in Scarth’s speech as their involvement was vital to the success of the event.

Tournament director was Paul Anderson and prizes were presented by Bapco PR manager Nawaf Al Ghanem.

Saleh Ali Al Kaabi has now added his name to the winners list following in the footsteps of his uncle Rashid Musbah and his father, Ali, both of whom participated in the event.

He thanked AGC and Bapco for organising the tournament and thanked his playing partners for the challenge they gave him. He attributed his golf prowess to his father’s tutelage and thanked him for his tips on playing the sand course.

Full results:

Champion:  Saleh Ali Al Kaabi  -4(136: 67, 69)

2nd:  Saqer Al Noaimi  -3  (137: 68, 69)

3rd:  Nasser Yacoob  -3  (137: 67, 70)

4th:  Hamad Mubarak Al Afnan  +1 (141: 72, 69)

5th:  Abdulla Al Hakam +3  (143: 71, 72)

6th:  Rory Young  +3  (143: 69, 74)

7th:  Ali Saleh Ali  +4  (144: 74, 70)

8th:  Matt Chalmers  +4  (144: 72, 72)

9th:  Ronan Armstrong   +5  (145: 76, 69)

10th:  Dave Park  +6  (146: 72, 74)

Outside the main prizes:

Best Gross Day 1: Nabeel Mohammed Saabt  69

Best Gross Day 2: Ebrahim El Hashel  72

Best Nett Overall: Eid Adel Muftah  125 (62, 63)

Best Nett Day 1: Jelmer Hoff  65

Best Nett Day 2:  Ali Mohammed Al Kowari  64