Aadam Syed of Pakistan took over as solo leader yesterday after the second round of play in the sixth Bahrain Amateur Open golf championship, being held at the Royal Golf Club.
After trailing day one joint leaders Samuel Gemmell of Britain and Khalifa Al Meraisi of Bahrain by a single stroke, Syed played an impressive five-under-par 67 yesterday to rise to the top of the leaderboard with a nine-under total of 135 after 36 holes.
He leads a group of 53 golfers who have made the cut for today’s final round.
The 54-hole strokeplay competition, organised by the Bahrain Golf Association (BGA), is now set for a thrilling finale, as Syed holds just a one-shot lead over current second-placer Issa Abou El Ela of Egypt, while Jordanian Mousa Shanaah is just three strokes behind.
Gemmell dropped to 10th place yesterday after struggling with a second-round performance of five-over-par 77, while Al Meraisi stayed within striking distance but fell behind to tied-fifth after a one-over 73 yesterday.
Today’s first quartet of competitors is scheduled to tee off at 6.50am to get the final round of action underway. The last group comprising Syed, El Ela, Shanaah, and current-fourth placer Jay Mullane of Britain will be teeing off at 8.50am.
Following play, the tournament’s official closing ceremony and awards presentation will be taking place.
The Bahrain Amateur Open is a World Amateur Golf Ranking counting event, and the winner will not only come away with the champion’s trophy, but also earn a qualification card for next year’s Bahrain Championship on the 2025 DP World Tour.
Furthermore, the Bahrain Amateur Open acts as a qualifier for the 16th King Hamad Trophy (KHT), taking place next month. The top 10 players and ties, excluding Bahrain national team golfers, will qualify for the KHT, which will be held at the same world-class course.
Syed has put in an impressive and consistent performance so far in the competition. He played a four-under 68 in the first round, and maintained his strong form yesterday, sinking three birdies in the front nine and then another three in the back. He also had an unlucky bogey on the par-four 17th hole although was still able to keep his position as solo leader.
El Ela also showed he is a force to be reckoned with, carding yesterday’s best score from the field with a six-under 66 to go to an eight-under-par total of 136 after two days. He began his round yesterday by birdieing five of the first nine holes, but also registered a bogey on the par-four fourth. He then had another two birdies as he headed back to the clubhouse.
Shanaah repeated his performance from day one by scoring another three-under 69 to go to six-under 138 heading into the finale. Mullane had a two-under-par 70 score yesterday to go five shots under with only the last 18 holes to play.
Al Meraisi’s 73 on day two took him to a four-under-par 140 score from two rounds – tied with Mikhail Pinto of India, who carded a one-under 71 yesterday.
Daniel Owen of Britain and Saleh Alkaabi of Qatar had impressive outings of 69 and 67, respectively, on day two to go to two-under-par 142 scores, good for tied-seventh along with Bahrain’s Yaseen Lefalher.
Gemmell went to even-par 144 after yesterday’s action, completing the top 10.
At the end of today’s play, in the event of a tie in the lowest gross total, the winner will be decided by a sudden death play-off on the 18th hole. The organising committee may add other holes if the tie is not decided after two play-off holes.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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