Qatar’s Saleh al-Kaabi and Ali Abdullah al-Shahrani shared a one-point lead in the race for the senior individual title on the opening day of GCC Golf Championship 2024 – Qatar on Thursday.
As golfers struggled in gusty wind at the Doha Golf Club, the Qatari pair returned with identical four-over-par 76 to take a one-point lead over Bahrain’s Khalifa Duaij Alkaabi.
UAE’s Thomas Nesbitt, Saudi Arabia’s Khalid Attieh and Bahrain’s Ali Mohamed Alkowari finished the day on joined fifth.
Meanwhile, Bahrain led the GCC Team Championship after the first day following an aggregate of 235 followed by the UAE (239), Saudi Arabia (239) and defending champions Qatar (240).
This is the 26th edition of the senior championship and the 15th edition of the 18 and under championship.
In the Junior Individual Category, UAE’s Rayan Ahmed secured opening day’s lead with a card of 75 while Oman’s Ayman Ghaleb (76) and UAE’s Mohamed Skaik (79) were second and third respectively. The UAE dominated the Junior Team Championship, registering a total of 154, leading second-placed Oman by 14 strokes, while Bahrain were third with a combined score of 184.
Apart from the hosts Qatar, the other participating nations are – Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar Golf Association hosted the inaugural edition of the championship in 1992 and last staged the championship in 2016.