Al Merisi, Al Kaabi joint-leaders on day one

TDT | Manama             

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Khalifa Al Merisi and Saleh Al Kaabi were joint-leaders at the end of the first round of play in the fourth Annual Bahrain Amateur Open, which got underway yesterday at The Royal Golf Club.

The pair carded a two-under total of 70 over the opening 18 holes. Al Merisi, the competition’s defending champion and playing on his home course, registered two birdies apiece on the front and back nine, but also had a bogey on hole five and a double bogey on hole 10.

Al Kaabi, representing Doha Golf Club, got off to a great start with four quick birdies over the first nine holes but then four bogeys, to go with two more birdies, heading into the clubhouse. The joint-leaders finished the first day of play one stroke ahead of third-placer Ahmed Mohamed Al Zayed from Bahrain Golf Club, who finished with a one-under 71 gross score.

Al Zayed had three birdies on the day and two bogeys. Tied-fourth on one-over-par 73 scores were Ronan Armstrong, Nasser Saad Al Mahasni and Matt Vigurs, while a further shot back in seventh was Nasser Yacoob Saleh.

Fahad Abdulla Al Hakam was ranked eighth with a three-over 75, while Jason Smith and Ali Al Shahrani rounded off the top 10, tied-ninth with four-overpar 76s. A total of 67 golfers teed off yesterday for the opening 18 holes of action. They are of different nationalities representing various clubs from across the region.

The tournament is being held over 54 holes across three days. There will be a cut after the second round of action. Only the leading 54 players and ties will tee off on day three. Marking the occasion, Bahrain Golf Association vice-president Duaij Khalifa Al Eid expressed his delight with the distinguished level of play shown by the competitors in round one.

He stressed that the tournament aims to raise the level of the golfers competing in order to give them a chance to play for the national team, thus ensuring a promising future for the sport. Al Eid also praised the continuous support the championship receives ever since it was first held four years ago.

Al Merisi won last year’s event after finishing the 54 holes seven shots clear of his closest challenger. Al Merisi became the third different player to win the competition in each of its three years. The first edition in 2019 was claimed by Ali Al Kawari, while Ahmed Al Zayed won the second tournament in 2020.