The second edition of the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic got off to a resoundingly royal start during Pro-Am day when His Highness Sayyid Kamil bin Fahad bin Mahmood Al Said hit a ceremonial golf shot into the Gulf of Oman to launch the prestigious event.
Following the opening shot, His Excellency Rashad Al Hinai, Under Secretary, Ministry of Sports Affairs, took to the stage in the magnificent VIP Pavilion, adjacent to the 18th green, to welcome the players, officials and distinguished guests.
HE Rashad Al Hinai said: “We are immensely proud of our European Challenge Tour event. Last year’s inaugural event was an enormous success and we have gone to great lengths to surpass what we achieved last year. We were overwhelmed with the praise and accolades the tournament received from the players, officials, spectators and media from all around the world.
“We are grateful for the support we have received from both the private and public sectors, including the Ministries of Sports, Information, Tourism and Health, the Royal Oman Police and the Muscat Municipality.
“We also thank our presenting sponsor, Oman Air and our Premium Sponsors, Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa, Al Jenaibi International Automobiles BMW and The Wave Muscat. It is also good to be working with local, regional and international partners Y&R, WSP Global, Zeehan events,Talentz, Gloria Jeans coffee, Tanuf Water, Pocari Sweat, See Muscat and the stunning venue, Almouj Golf.”
Nick Tarratt, Director European Tour International Dubai Office then welcomed the presentation party onto the stage to join HE Rashad Al Hinai: Ahmed Al Musalmi, CEO, National Bank of Oman, Mohammed Mafoodh Al Ardi, Chairman of NBO, and Hassan Shaban, NBO Head of Government Banking.
Jose Maria Zamora, Deputy Director of the European Challenge Tour, thanked the National Bank of Oman for their sponsorship of what has become one of the finest tournaments on the Challenge Tour schedule.
The prizes were presented to the NBO winning team led by professional Adrien Bernadet comprising of Mark Yap, Robert Pancras and Anil Sethi; Runners-up were Jordi Garcia Pinto’s team of Sivaji Ganguly, Sumant Sunder and Waqar Ghulam; third, on a countback were Edouardo Espana’s team of Jam Soonawalla, Virender Agarwal, Fayad Mohammed.
The novelty prizes for the morning round were presented to: Chris Murray (Nearest the Pin Hole 17); Devan Thuppali (Nearest the Pin Hole 2); HH Azzan Al Said ( Longest Drive Hole 3); Sivaji Ganguly (Nearest the Pin Hole 4); Julian Chong (Longest Drive Hole 7); Sumant Sunder (Longest Drive Hole 16); Shan Sultan (Nearest the Pin Hole 14).
