Morocco’s Yassine Touhami sets early pace at Arab Golf Championship

Muscat: Morocco’s Yassine Touhami set the early pace at the 36th Arab Golf Championship at the Ghala Golf Club on Wednesday.
At the end of first day’s action, when Saudi Arabia stayed ahead of the four-time defending champions Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the team championship, Yassine Touhami shot 1-under par 71 to take the lead in the individual competition.
Yassine Touhami was closely followed by Saudi Arabia’s Saud Al Sharif who carded an even par 72.
Saud Al Sharif’s compatriots Khalid Attieh and Othman Al Mulla are in joint third place with two others — Khalid Yousef of the UAE and Issa Abou El Ela of Egypt. All four shot 2-over par 74.
Omani challenge
Meanwhile, Azzan Al Rumhy, who is leading the Sultanate's challenge, is in joint fourth place with UAE’s Rashid Hamood. Oman’s top amateur as well as the Emirati golfer signed for 3-over 75 scores.
The other three Omanis in action are far behind with young Rashad Al Harthy in the 34th place after a 13-over 85.
Ahmed Al Balushi, with 16-over 88, and Fahad Al Kitani, with 17-over 89, are in the 38th and 40th places respectively.
Meanwhile, Saud Al Sharif’s score along with that of Khalid Attieh and Othman Al Mulla helped Saudi Arabia take the team championship lead.
At the end of the first round, the Saudis are ahead with score of 220 while Morocco are in joint second place with the UAE on 229.
Oman are well behind in the eighth place with 248.
Meanwhile, Oman’s Azzan Al Rumhy expressed delighted in getting the opportunity to play in the Arab championship at home.
“I have been taking part in the Arab championships for a long time. But this is for the first time the championship has come to Oman. I have been waiting for this opportunity (to play in the Arab event at home) since 2002. Finally that opportunity has come and it’s a dream come true,” he said.
“This is the course (Ghala Golf Club) where we train regularly and hopefully our knowledge of the conditions will help us to achieve good results,” he added.
GCC officials meet
On the sidelines of the Arab championship, the members of the GCC Organising Committee for Golf will meet on Friday under the chairmanship of Major General Ali Saqer Al Nuaimi.
During the meeting, the GCC golf officials will discuss various issues concerning the development of the sport in the region. The members will also decide on the hosts and venue of the next GCC Under-15 Golf Championship after Saudi Arabia withdrew from hosting.