Muscat: Omani golfers Azaan Al Rumhy and Ali Al Saleh spearhead the local challenge in Oman’s Muscat Hills Golf Citizen Championship – round eight of the 11-stage Mena Golf Tour – from Monday to Wednesday.
Playing in an international field will be good preparation for the pair ahead of the Nomura Cup at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi from October 22-25.
Included in the field, which is represented by players from 17 countries, are nine winners on tour, led by 2014 Mena Golf Tour champion Joshua White of England, and his compatriot Gary King, who moved to the top of the current Order of Merit standings following his top five finish in round seven of the series at the Els Club last week, which was won by Scotland’s Clark Lutton.
With the first seven events on the 11-stop tour producing a new winner each time, all is still to play for as the series heads to the sultanate.
Waiting in the wings are a string of regular contenders, especially the English trio of Lee Corfield, Luke Joy and Jake Shepherd, all multiple winners on the tour, and Morocco’s Ahmad Marjan, who will be itching to break back into the winner’s circle as the tour fast approaches its business end.
And the Omani duo — of Al Rumhy and Al Saleh — will be hoping to put local knowledge to good use when they join the amateur division, led by England’s James Allan and India’s Rayhan Thomas.
Both Allan and Thomas have flirted with victory this season, indicating amateurs are now competitive on level terms with professionals in a sign of the growing standards of the game in the region.
Al Rumhy and Al Saleh, along with Saudi Arabia’s Prince Khaled Saud Al Faisal, will certainly fancy their chances of making a breakthrough in the Arab Division. They will be up against the likes of Morocco’s Ayoub Lguirati and Karim Al Hali, who currently lead the region’s amateur division, in what promises to be an interesting duel.
The Muscat Hills Golf Citizen Championship will also showcase investments made by Oman in positioning the Sultanate as one of the major golf destinations in the region.
“We are delighted to be part of the Mena Golf Tour as we support all initiatives which target the overall development of the game in the region,” said Mundhir Al Barwani, chairman of Oman Golf Committee.
“The tour has done a great job in creating a competitive environment for the region’s players to grow and excel on the international stage,” he added.
Mohammad Juma Bu Amim, chairman of the tour, thanked Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club and the Oman Golf Committee for their enthusiastic support in hosting the event.
“Oman has made great strides in putting together solid infrastructure for golf and hosting of a Tour event here strongly endorses the Sultanate’s commitment to broadening the base of golfers in the Arab world.
“I hope the experience gained from playing in this event will immensely benefit Azaan and Ali in the run up to the Nomura Cup. The tour is basically meant for the region’s players and they should be more proactive in using this platform for achieving better results.”
