Paul Kinnear of Britain took the lead yesterday after the first round of play in the 16th King Hamad Trophy golf championship, which got underway at The Royal Golf Club at Riffa Views.
Kinnear overcame challenging conditions, including strong winds, to card a four-under-par 68 total across the opening 18 holes.
He enjoyed a slim, one-stroke advantage over four others who finished the day in tied-second place. They included Spaniard Adri Arnaus, Moroccan Hugo Trommetter, fellow-Briton Cameron Mukherjee, and Italian Michele Ortolani.
Both Trommetter and Mukherjee are amateur players, as is Bahrain’s Yaseen Le Falher, who was sixth yesterday just two shots behind the solo leader.
Around 80 golfers teed off in round one, featuring top players representing close to 20 countries worldwide.
The three-day, 54-hole event, organised and run by the Bahrain Golf Association (BGA), is being held under the royal patronage of His Majesty King Hamad.
Play continues today, at the end of which a cut of 45 players and ties will be made heading into tomorrow’s final round.
The winner of this year’s King Hamad Trophy, plus the best-ranked Bahraini amateur, will get invitations to be a part of the star-studded field in next year’s Bahrain Championship, part of the 2025 DP World Tour calendar.
The leading 10 professionals will also be receiving cash prizes. The champion will take home $10,000, while the runner-up will pocket $6,800 and the third-placer $4,600.
Kinnear’s first round yesterday included five birdies on the second, sixth, eighth, 10th, and 17th holes and a bogey on the par-three 16th. He completed the front nine with a three-under 33, and headed back to the clubhouse with a one-under 35.
Arnaus recovered from a shaky start in which he bogeyed two of the first five holes, namely the third and fifth. He responded well with two birdies to end the front nine on even par, and then had birdies on holes 10 through 12 to help him earn his score for the day.
Trommetter started his round strong with three birdies in the first six holes but also had a bogey. He then carded two more birdies and a 15th-hole bogey to close.
Mukherjee was in fine form throughout the day and could have had a share of the lead if not for a late bogey on the par-four 17th hole.
Ortolani was unlucky on the front nine, which included a double bogey on the par-four fourth hole. He rallied heading back to the club and had birdies on the 10th, 13th, 16th, and 18th holes to finish amongst the tied-second placers.
Le Falher made the most of his extensive experience along the Montgomerie championship course to take his place in sixth. The top-ranked Bahraini talent had a double bogey on the par-three third and then a bogey the very next hole, but roared back with five birdies to stay within striking distance of Kinnear.
Ranked behind him was a group of five players on one-under-par 71 totals. They included former champion Tom Sloman and Matthew Gauntlett of Great Britain, Moroccans Ayoub Ssouadi and Youssef El Halli, and American Ahmed Ali.
Last year’s champion Cole Madey was tied-29th with a three-over-par score from day one.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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