Tuesday 30 / April / 2024
Muscat: Saudi Arabia’s Othman Al Mulla got the better of Oman’s top amateur golfer Azzan Al Rumhy to emerge the winner of 2016 Assarain Golf Classic organised at the newly modified Ghala Golf Club.
Over 125 golfers from the Sultanate and overseas participated in the keenly contested 21st edition of the Assarain Golf Classic. The participants were competing in the 2-day, 36 hole event with Gross and Nett categories in Men’s, Ladies and Junior divisions.
The Classic saw participation of top amateur players of Oman, including Azzan Al Rumhy, Hamed Al Rumhy, Ali Hameed, Jeff Campbell, Sachin Bawa, Jameela Daud, Jacky Franssen, Sanjoli Singh, Rashad Al Harthy and Fahad Al Kitani.
After the first day of play there were thre players locked together with each scoring an opening round of 75, defending Champion Jeff Campbell, former champion Azzan Al Rumhy and playing in his first Assarain Classic Othman Al Mulla.
The second day proved to be the testing factor as Othman pulled away from the group to win the event with scores of 75 and 75, two shots ahead of Azzan Al Rumhy who finished with scores of 75 and 77. Third place went to Sachin Bawa with rounds of 76 and 80.
Othman Al Mulla said: “The Assarain Golf Classic is a fantastic event and I have really enjoyed my time here. Big congratulations to my playing partners over the last few days. It was a pleasure to be in this event and again I would like to thank the sponsor the Assarain Group of Companies.”
In the Mens Nett Division, Pawan Singh won with a combined nett score of 143 followed by Hemant Pajankar with 144. James Mills came in third, narrowly missing second by one shot with a score of 145.
Defending her title Sanjoli Singh won the Ladies Gross Division with a combined gross score of 183 over Jameela Daud by two shots.
The 2016 edition has set a new level of golfing event in Oman.
Leon Sassen, General Manager of Golf World, who managed the event, said: “The atmosphere was electric from the first day. I was truly amazed by the participation and overall feel of the 2016 Assarain Golf Classic.
“We were oversubscribed and had to have a cut off for players as we unfortunately could not fit all of them in, but overall was a tremendous occasion. I would like to extend a big thank you to all the players for their support of the event, it was a fantastic two days”.
Rashad junior champion
Oman national junior player Rashad Al Harthy had a combined gross score of 165 to win the junior gross division over fellow national junior player Fahad Al Kitani.
Attending the final day ceremony included Guest of Honour Khalil Al Khunji, Chairman of Muscat University, Khalid Al Wahaibi, Managing Director Assarain Group of Companies and Dr. Mohammed bin Hamed Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas.
The Assarain Classic ended with its tradition of raffling off a Rolex watch, because of the value of the watch it cannot be used as a prize for the event. This year’s winner was Haitham K. Haji of Bahrain.
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 2016 event, we are committed to making the Assarain Golf Classic tournament bigger and better in the coming years while maintaining our strong professional standards of hosting one of the oldest golf tournaments in the Sultanate. It is a real pleasure to see all the players enjoying themselves and the fact that the field just keeps getting bigger and bigger each year is very comforting.”
Sachin Bawa, Director of Golf at Ghala Golf Club, commented: “It really is a pleasure dealing with fantastic sponsors like the Assarain Group of Companies. Their team is extremely professional and they truly care about the success of their event. I have no doubt that this event will continue to grow and succeed in years to come and I am grateful for their continued sponsorship of this wonderful event.”
The new improvements to the Ghala Golf Club lived up to the demands of the two-day tournament. The improvements of the driving range and other aspects were a focal discussion point for the players.
