Saudi Arabia’s in-form Khalid Attieh edged out Qatar’s Saleh al-Kaabi to win the individual title of GCC Golf Championship at the Doha Golf Club (DGC) on Sunday.
Attieh, who won Bahrain Armature Open recently, defeated two-time champions al-Kaabi by four strokes for an impressive title victory.
The Saudi national team player carded rounds of 78, 72, 71 and 76 for a championship total of 297 – nine over par.
Al-Kaabi stumbled in the decisive round, carding 81 to finish runner-up. Qatar’s Ali al-Sharani finished third after scoring 78 for a total score of 303.
Saudi Arabia also won the GCC Team Championship on Sunday, claiming a seven-shot victory with an aggregate of 931, while the United Arab Emirates claimed second position, edging two-time defending champions Qatar by a single stroke.
Bahrain and Oman finished fourth and fifth respectively.
On Saturday, the UAE swept junior titles with Rayan Ahmed (223) grabbing the individual crown after a four-shot victory over compatriot Mohamed Skaik. Oman’s Ayman Ghaleb al-Busaidi was third with an aggregate of 238.
The UAE also clinched the Junior Team Championship title with a combined card of 450 while Oman (504) and Bahrain (540) rounded off the podium. QGA president Hassan Nasser al-Naimi crowned the podium winners during the closing ceremony, which was also attended by regional golf officials and participating contingents.
A total of 31 golfers representing all the GCC nations barring Kuwait took part in the championship that included three days of youth contests, while the adult events witnessed four rounds.
QGA president Hassan Nasser al-Naimi (centre), QGA secretary-general Fahad Nasser al-Naimi (left) and QGA board member Mohamed al-Naimi pose with Qatar’s golfers.
First placed Saudi Arabia’s Khalid Attieh (centre), second placed Qatar’s Saleh al-Kaabi (left) and Qatar’s Ali al-Sharani pose with their GCC Golf Championship trophies at the DGC on Sunday.
Victories Saudi Arabia team celebrate with the trophy.