The fourth edition of the Presidents Cup was not only the most well represented in its short history so far, it also proved to be the most exciting one with Rashid Hamood beating last year’s champion Khalid Yousuf in a one-hole playoff.
Hamood made an impressive nine-shot improvement on his 82 on the first day with a round of oneover par 73 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club for a two-day total of 155, but 36 holes wasn’t enough to decide the champion.
Yousuf, who started the tournament with a round of 77 to enjoy a five-shot advantage over Hamood at the start of the second round, could not find a single birdie on the golf course after one on the par-5 second. He closed with a 78 to get into a play-off.
The play-off just lasted one hole, with Hamood making an impressive birdie on the 18th hole to hoist the Presidents Cup.
During the play-off hole, Yousuf pulled his tee shot leaving him under a tree, while Hamood found the middle of the fairway. After punching out, Yousuf hit a 3-wood from 265 yards to about 30 feet.
This was not good enough as Hamood matched his 3-wood shot by hitting the green in two. Once on the green Rashid only needed to two-putt for the victory. Rounding out the top-3 and coming in third place was Abdulla Al Qubasis with rounds of 79-80 for a total of 159.
A delighted Hamood said: “It is an honor to win the Presidents Cup. To win this event that brings the entire National golfing community together means a lot to me. This is important because it has a strong impact on the development of UAE golf.
“I really stuck to my game plan this weekend. I was struggling in the first round but bounced back and finished strong. I felt confident with my putter all weekend and made some clutch putts. With the GCC Golf Championships coming up at the end of the month, this will be a good win leading up to that event.”
The Overall Net winner for the event was Saeed Al Balooshi. Playing off a 19 handicap, Al Balooshi finished with a net total of 138, sixunder-par.
Tara Al Marzooqi emerged as the ladies champion. Al Marzooqi is coming off a team gold medal performance at the 2016 Ladies GCC Golf Championship in Bahrain and shot rounds of 96 and 103 for a tournament total of 199. The Ladies Overall Net winner was Alia Al Emadi with a score of 153, nineover-par.
In the Junior Division, Rashid Al Emadi stole the show with a winning total of 185. Rashid is another junior to keep an eye on as he is steadily improving his game. Khaled Al Mutawa was the runner-up with a total of 208.
With a total field of 72 players, it was the most well-attended Presidents Cup ever organized by the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF).
The two-day tournament is sponsored by HSBC.
The award ceremony was graced with HH Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth, and Social Development, along with other dignitaries, including EGF board members.
