Assarain Golf Classic concludes with huge success

MUSCAT: As many as 144 golfers from the Sultanate and overseas gathered to compete for top honours at the 23rd edition of the Assarain Golf Classic which was held over two days concluded at the Ghala Golf Club during the weekend.
The 36 hole event consisted of Gross and Nett categories in both Men’s, Lady’s and Junior divisions and was open to all amateur local and international golfers with a registered USGA handicap.
The Assarain Golf Classic has continued with its commitment of expanding globally. This year’s competition attracted more international players than any previous year.
Leon Sassen, General Manager of Golf World, said: “The atmosphere was electric from the opening ceremony. I was truly amazed by the participation and overall feel of the event. The tournament was oversubscribed after ten days of opening registration, unfortunately we could not fit all of the players on the waiting list in. I would like to extend a big thank you to all of the players for their support of the event, it was a fantastic two days and overall a tremendous occasion”.
The tournament had all the top amateur players in Oman competing against each other, Azaan Al Rumhy, Jeff Cambpell, Allen Middelton, Ali Hameed, Rodney Blair, Lyn Casey, and Jameela Daud, to name a few.
In the Men’s Gross category after the first day of play Ahmed Ejazz shot 73 to take a two stroke lead over Allan Middleton 75 and Roddy Blair in third place with a 76. Defending campion Jeff Champbell shot a 77 to be four shots off the leader. Lyn Casey shot a 77 to lead the lady’s division and Oman National Junior player Mohammed Al Balushi finished on 87 to lead the Junior category.
The Men’s Nett Category was another closely evened scoring after the first day with local Omani player Yousuf Al Balushi finishing with Nett 66 and being tied at the top with Aashwin Chowdury who also finished with a Nett 66.
Day Two proved to be the testing factor in all categories. The Nett Men’s category was won by Yousuf Al Balushi who finished with a Nett 71 to give him a combined total of 137, ahead of Mohammed Al Fauzi who finished with a 71 for a combined total of 140 in second place. Day One joint leader Aashwin Chowdury finished in third with a total score of 143 on countback.
Lyn Casey won the Ladies Gross category with another impressive Nett 77 on Day Two for a combined total of 154. The Ladies Nett category was won by Jameela Daud with a total nett score of 157.
The Junior category was won by Oman National Junior player Mohammed Al Balushi with a combined gross score of 185 over fellow Oman National Junior player Ahmed Al Wahiabi who finished with 187.
The Men’s Gross category was closely matched as Ahmed Ejazz gave away his lead on the Front Nine with Ahmed and Allan tied together starting their back nine. The closing holes proved to be crucial as Ahmed Ejazz kept his nerves intact to pull away from the rivals and finishing with a score of 80 giving him a combined total of 153 one shot ahead of Tenzin Tsarong, who unfortunately bogeyed the last hole to finish with 76 giving him a total of 154. Allan Middleton finished in third place with 80 on the second day for a final score of 155.
Commenting upon his win Ahmed Ejazz said, “I would like to thank the Assarain Group of Companies for creating this event and a big thank you to my playing partners. I look forward to next year’s tournament”.
Commenting upon the success of the event, Ibrahim Al Wahaibi, Managing Director of Assarain Group of Companies said, "I would like to congratulate all the winners in the respective categories. With the success of the 2018 event, we are committed to raising the standard for the Assarain Golf Classic Tournament each year and I think we achieved it again this year. It is a real pleasure to see all the players enjoying themselves and the fact that the field just keeps getting bigger and stronger each year is very comforting.”
The tournament ended with a gala evening of live entertainment and the tradition of raffling off a Rolex watch. This year’s winner was Ghala Golf Club member Tomoo Shoji.