MUSCAT: As many as 144 golfers from the Sultanate and overseas participated in the keenly contested 23rd edition of the Assarain Golf Classic. The participants were competing in the 2-day, 36 hole event with gross and nett categories in men’s, ladies and junior divisions. The event was held at the Ghala Golf Club and was open to all amateur local and international golfers with a registered USGA handicap.
The 2018 Assarain Golf Classic has continued with their commitment to expanding their event globally. The 2018 event attracted more international players than any previous years. Leon Sassen, General Manager of Golf World, said: “The atmosphere was electric from the opening ceremony. I was truly amazed by the participation and overall feel of the 2018 event. The tournament was oversubscribed after ten days of opening registration, unfortunately we could not fit all of the players on the waiting list in. I would like to extend a big thank you to all of the players for their support of the event, it was a fantastic two days and overall a tremendous occasion”.
The 2018 Assarain Golf Classic had all the top amateur players in Oman competing against each other, Azaan al Rumhy, Jeff Cambpell, Allen Middelton, Ali Hameed, Rodney Blair, Lyn Casey, and Jameela Daud, to name a few.
In the men’s gross category after the first day of play Ahmed Ejazz shot 73 to have a two stroke lead over Allan Middleton 75 and Roddy Blair in third place with a 76. Defending champion Jeff Champbell shot a 77 to be four shots off the leader. Lyn Casey shot a 77 to lead the lady’s division and Oman national junior player Mohammed al Balushi finished on 87 to lead the junior category.
The Men’s Nett category was another closely evened scoring after the first day with local Omani player Yousuf al Balushi finishing with nett 66 and being tied at the top with Aashwin Chowdury who also finished with a nett 66.
The evening gathering was held at Ghala Golf Club with live entertainment and live buffet to help ease players into day two of the tournament.
The second day proved to be the testing factor in all categories. The nett men’s category was won by Yousuf al Balushi who finished with a nett 71 to give him a combined total of 137, ahead of Mohammed al Fauzi who finished with a 71 for a combined total of 140 in second place. Day one joint leader Aashwin Chowdury finished in third with a total score of 143 on count back.
Lyn Casey won the ladies gross category with another impressive 77 on day two for a combined total of 154. The ladies net category was won by Jameela Daud with a total nett score of 157. The junior category was won by Mohammed al Balushi with a combined gross score of 185 over fellow Oman national junior player Ahmed al Wahaibi who finished with 187.
The men’s gross category was closely matched as Ahmed Ejazz gave away his lead on the front nine with Ahmed and Allan tied together starting their back nine. The closing holes proved to be crucial as Ahmed Ejazz kept his nerves intact to pull away from the rivals and finishing with a score of 80 giving him a combined total of 153 one shot ahead of Tenzin Tsarong, who unfortunately bogeyed the last hole to finish with 76 giving him a total of 154. Allan Middleton finished in third place with 80 on the second day for a final score of 155.
Commenting upon his win Ahmed Ejazz said, “I would like to thank the Assarain Group of Companies for creating this event and a big thank you to my playing partners. I look forward to next year’s tournament”.
The Assarain Classic ended with the tradition of raffling off a Rolex watch. This year’s winner was Ghala Golf Club member Tomoo Shoji.
Commenting upon the success of the event, Ibrahim al Wahaibi, Managing Director of Assarain Group of Companies,said, “I would like to congratulate all the winners in the respective categories. With the success of the 2018 event, we are committed to raising the standard for the Assarain Golf Classic Tournament each year and I think we achieved it again this year. It is a real pleasure to see all the players enjoying themselves and the fact that the field just keeps getting bigger and stronger each year is very comforting.”
A total of 144 players attended the tournament for the 36 hole stroke event. Oman Golf Committee’s Jamie Wood was on hand during the two days to ensure professional standards were met and for any ruling required. The Ghala Golf Club will now prepare for the upcoming GCC tournament.
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