Oman Amateur Open golf tourney receives huge response

Muscat: The Oman Amateur Open golf championship, scheduled to start on January 22, has received an overwhelming response with golfers from across all the GCC countries showing interest in participating in the competition.
The two-day tournament, organised by the Oman Golf Committee (OGC), will take place at the picturesque, lush green, 18-hole course of the Almouj Golf.
The field of 120 golfers for Oman’s premier competition is already full and several more golfers from all over the region are waiting to be included in the list, in the Oman Golf Committee organised event.
The tournament is being supported by the Port of Salalah, Al Turki Group, A’saffa Foods and Sohar Aluminium.
Bahrain’s Nasser Yaqoob has confirmed his participation in the competition. He had won the senior category title in the previous edition, and it is expected that the top golfer will once again try to take home the big prize.
He is, however, expected to face some really stiff competition this time round from title-contenders representing Qatar, the UAE and, of course, Oman.
Among the international players, Bahrain has already confirmed the participation of 15 of its golfers.
The Omani contingent will be spearheaded by the experienced Azzan Al Rumhy, and young talents Rashad Al Harthy and Fahad Al Kitani.
The competition will be played in a 36-hole strokeplay format.
Mundhir Al Barwani, the OGC Chairman, sounded elated with the positive response surrounding the competition.
He said: “The fact that so many players are queuing up to take part in this event indicates two things – firstly, the rising trend of competitive golf in Oman, and secondly, the huge popularity that this championship has begun to enjoy.”
Ahmed Al Jhdhamy, the OGC Vice-Chairman, shared the same opinion.
He said: “The positive build-up to the event clearly shows that the standard of golf in this competition is quite good and going up, to say the least. I wish good luck to all the players, from both home and abroad. The Oman Amateur Open will certainly be as entertaining as it will be a gritty contest.”
The tournament, an annual flagship event of the OGC, was the first ever golfing event that was created in Oman. After the tremendous success of the inaugural edition in 2010, the competition has quickly grown in popularity in the GCC’s golfing circles. It’s now a premier event in Oman’s golfing calendar.