Almulla, Al-Ghamdi Win Xerox Corporate Golf Challenge Qualifier

RIYADH, 30 January 2007 — Close to a hundred golfers in the city motored down to Dirab Golf Club on Friday for the 10th Xerox Corporate Golf Challenge qualifier all hoping to win an all-expenses paid trip to Dubai where they will compete in the grand final at the Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course on April 7.

Too bad, all they could do was hope after Dhahran-based Kingdom No. 1 amateur golfer Othman Almulla who’s enjoying a rich vein of form carried his partnership with Mubarak Al-Ghamdi to victory in the full handicap two-person best-ball medal competition.

Almulla and Al-Ghamdi combined for a sparkling 8-under 64 to win by one stroke over the pair of Tariq Javed and Irfan Hanif, who took second place on countback from Ray Chaplow-James Starodub after both teams carded 65.

The tournament is the fourth round of the Xerox Corporate Golf Challenge and Dirab the second golf club outside of the UAE to host a qualifier in the 2006-2007 series. The decision to launch the event regionally meant that Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are now all able to participate alongside the UAE in providing contenders for the ultimate corporate golf challenge prize.

The top 12 teams from each of the four UAE qualifying rounds, along with one team from each of the 4 regional qualifiers, will progress to a UAE grand final where the eventual tournament series winner will receive an exclusive VIP invitation to the 2007 Wentworth Senior Masters.

Ali Belhareth, the veteran captain of the Saudi national golf team, and Ali Al-Shahli missed out on the prizes with a 66 as did another potentially explosive pair of Fahad Al-Mansour and M.S. Kim who combined for a 67.

Al-Mansour represented Saudi Arabia in the World Amateur Golf Team Championship last October in Stellenbosch, South Africa while the Korean Kim is among the very few at Dirab who can match up with the young Almulla.

But on this day Almulla was peerless using the victory to build his confidence for Dubai Desert Classic where he qualified to play as the top amateur from the Dubai qualifier.

Almulla traveled to Dubai on Sunday for the start of the European Tour event on Thursday. Traveling with him were his parents. Khaled Abunayyan, president of Saudi Golf Committee and owner of Dirab golf course, is also in Dubai to support Almulla, the first-ever Saudi and youngest Arab at 21 to earn a ticket to Desert Classic.

Besides the trophies raffle prizes galore in the event. In attendance during the prize distribution ceremony were Xerox executives namely Aymen Matter, Xerox regional marketing manager who came all the way from Dubai, Ehab S. Guindi, general manager, Saudi Xerox Agencies, Shadi Bakhour, sales director, Abdul Halim Ammoura, marketing manager, Mohammed Rahman, logistics manager, Mohammed Abo El Nasr, XGS manager, Ahmed Kasaby, XGS supervisor, Khaled Bou Antoun, Riyadh sales manager and Zamil A. Kasim, marketing executive. Dirab Golf Club manager Bochaib El Jadiani and committee chair Tom Matthews were also present. El Jadiani had coordinated with The Montgomerie Dubai GM Kossak Ralph Kenyon and Klaas Boon in the staging of the Saudi leg of the series. The longest drive awards went to Jeremy Haas in the men’s division and Irene Campbell in the ladies group, while Almulla took the award for nearest to pin.

Meantime, El Jadiani said the Saudi Golf Academy is now open. The nine-hole Academy course has been built using one of the best types of grass in the world, according to El Jadiani who is inviting young Saudis to come and learn golf.