Madey leads in King Hamad Trophy
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Cole Madey from the US took the overnight lead yesterday after the first round of play in the 15th King Hamad Trophy golf championship, currently being held at The Royal Golf Club (RGC) at Riffa Views.
Madey took a two-shot lead after carding a seven-under-par 65 over the opening 18 holes along RGC’s Colin Montgomerie-designed course. Madey spearheaded a field of 96 golfers, which included professionals and amateurs representing 15 nations from around the world.
He sank seven birdies yesterday on an impressive showing to kickstart the three-day competition. Ranked shots behind was Gary King from Great Britain with a five-under-par 67. His opening round included six birdies but also a bogey on the par-four sixth hole.
Four players were tied-third on the leaderboard, including Tom Plumb from Great Britain, David Kitt from Ireland, Ssouadi Ayoub from Morocco and Sam Mullane from the UAE. They each had three-under 69 scores, with Kitt and Mullane being the two leading amateurs so far in the tournament.
Seventh was Marjan Ahmed of Morocco with a two-under-par 70 score, while four were tied-eighth on one-under 71 scores, including Bahraini Ahmed Al Zayed, defending champion Tom Sloman of Great Britain, Giedrus Mackelis of Lithuania and Benjamin David, also from Great Britain.
The hotly contested first day of play ended with nine players in tied-12th on even par 72 scores. They were Joshua Grenville-Wood of the UAE; Jesper Alm, Erik Jonasson, Gustaf Kochen and Mathias Weiderman from Sweden; Eoin Murphy and Simon Walker from Ireland; and the Moroccan pair of Raouzi Othmane and Fakori Mehdi.
Another 10 were tied-21st, including two-time former champion Luke Joy from Great Britain. The second round takes place today, after which a cut of the top 50 and ties will be made for tomorrow’s final day. This year’s event is extra special as, aside from coming away with the glittering King Hamad Trophy, the winner will get an invitation to the inaugural Bahrain Championship on the 2024 DP World Tour, set to be played in early February.
This DP World Tour place is coveted by many as they will get to compete alongside some of the world’s biggest names in the game of golf. The tournament’s main sponsor is Batelco.
The gold sponsors are Alba, Foulath, Khaleeji and Nass Corporation; while the silver sponsors are Bahrain Economic Development Board, BBK, GPIC and Kuwait Finance House. Entry is free to attend this weekend’s events and spectators are welcome to watch all the action.
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