Sunday 15 / December / 2024
Muscat: Oman junior golfers claimed a silver in the team event at the recently concluded GCC Golf Championship 2024 in Doha, Qatar, and capped the tournament with another medal when Ayman Al Busaidi bagged a bronze in the individual category.
Oman senior team, however, disappointed, finishing last in the five-team event with Kuwait not participating in the event.
Held at the Doha Golf Club, Oman’s junior team, comprising Ayman, Adam Al Barwani and Mahir Sampat, carded a total of 504 over three rounds to finish behind champions, the UAE, who ended with a combined total of 450.
Ayman led the Oman team’s performance with an opening round of 76, just a shot behind UAE’s Rayan Ahmed for the day’s best score. Adam shot 92 and Mahir returned a card of 94. On the second day, Ayman was again the best golfer for his team with a round of 84 while Adam had a score of 89, and a shot more was Mahir. On the final day, Ayman had another good round with 78 while Adam hit 85 and Mahir 91.
Bahrain finished third with a total of 540 while hosts Qatar came fourth with 587.
In the individual event of the junior championship, which featured 11 players, UAE’s Rayan Ahmed scored an overall seven over 223 (75, 76, 72) to pick the gold while his team-mate, Mohammed Skaik took the silver with a combined total of 227 (79, 73, 75).
Ayman clinched a creditable bronze with an overall score of 238 (76, 84, 78). Oman’s other junior golfers, Adam (266) and Mahir (275) finished fifth and ninth overall respectively in the individual rankings.
Oman Golf Association (OGA) President Mundhir Al Barwani congratulated the national junior team and said: “It was a satisfying performance by our juniors. Winning a silver in the team event and Ayman picking an individual bronze is a good result. The boys have worked hard to achieve it.”
The men’s quartet of Azaan Al Rumhy, Hamed Al Rumhy, Rashad Al Harthi and Ahmed Al Wahaibi, finished at the bottom of the team event with a combined total of 1050 over four rounds.
Saudi Arabia won the gold with a total of 931 while the UAE took the silver (938) as they edged two-time defending champions and hosts Qatar (939) by one shot. Bahrain with 941 finished ahead of Oman.
Saudi Arabia’s Khalid Attieh won the men’s individual title, denying Qatar’s Saleh Al Kaabi a hat-trick of victories in the regional tournament.
Attieh carded 76 on the final day at the Doha Golf Club, aggregating 207 as Al Kaabi stumbled in the decisive round, carding 81 to finish runner-up – four strokes off the Saudi golfer. Ali Abdullah Al Shahrani sealed two podium finishes for Qatar, securing third place after scoring 78 for a total score of 303.
Qatar Golf Association President Hassan Nasser Al Naimi crowned the podium winners during the closing ceremony, which was also attended by regional golf officials and participating contingents.
The Oman delegation at the GCC meet included OGA chief Al Barwani, OGA general secretary Ahmed Al Jhdhamy, and OGA treasurer Masoud Al Barwani.
