The 2022 GCC Golf Championships concluded on the 17th March at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. The course, which has tested some of the World’s best golfers during the 16 consecutive HSBC Golf Championships held there, played host to the top Men’s and Under 18 amateur golfers from the six participating nations: Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
The Under 18’s division, in its 13th edition, was played over three rounds with the best two scores from the team of three each day being combined to give the overall team score. Oman’s team of Ayman Al Busaidi, Al Munther Al Hinai, and Mohamed Al Naamani produced three consistent days of golf to secure the silver medal position, the team from the UAE were the overall winners and Bahrain finished in third place. Individually Al Busaidi finished in sixth place after rounds of 80, 80, and 86, with Al Hinai a further place back in seventh spot and Al Naamani in ninth.
Peter Bailey, Oman’s National Team Manager is quoted as saying “The 2022 GCC Championships were very encouraging for Oman, it was great to see our team of players pulling together and playing with pride and passion. I am sure that the Under 18 result will inspire many other youngsters to come and try golf, a game where you challenge yourself and can mix with friends of all ages. We have worked hard on allowing the players to focus more on the process rather than the result and I am very proud of how they have all performed this week.”
The Men’s event in its 24th edition was played over four rounds. On each day the best three scores from the teams of four players were counted. Oman, represented by Azaan Al Rumhy, Badar Al Amri, Mohammed Al Busaidi, and Fahad Al Kitani, finished the tournament in fifth place. With Qatar dominating to take the gold medal by ten strokes over Saudi Arabia who took silver, with Bahrain winning bronze. In the individual category Saleh Al Kaabi from Qatar struggled a little on the final day but having opened with two very strong rounds of golf, including a very impressive six under par 66 on day 2, secured the gold medal, Oman’s Azaan Al Rumhy finished in seventh position individually after rounds of 75, 74, 78, and 82.
Mundhir Al Barwani, Chairman of the Oman Golf Association, said “We are very pleased to have been able to participate in the GCC Championships and must extend our gratitude to MHD ITICS and the Honourable Lujaina Mohsin Darwish for their support, I would also like to thank the EGF and Abu Dhabi Golf Club for their hospitality. We are delighted to have won the silver medal in the Under 18s division and I congratulate all the players for their performances. Junior golf development has always been a key objective of the Oman Golf Association, these young golfers are the future of the game in the Sultanate, their development would not be possible without the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, our Junior Programme sponsor Oman LNG, and our Association partners Sohar Aluminium and Moore. We now look forward to readying our teams for the Under 13, 15 and Ladies GCC Championships which will be played later this year.”