SINGAPORE: Othman Almulla showed terrific character as he limped his way through the second round of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), but managed to dig deep on the back nine and create history by becoming the first player from Saudi Arabia to make the cut in the region’s premier amateur tournament.
On Friday at Sentosa Golf Club’s New Tanjong course, Almulla followed up his solid one-under par 69 in the opening round with a four-over par 74 to safely make the cut by three shots at three-over par 143.
The effort was even more incredible as the 32-year-old Almulla hobbled around the course after developing a painful blister on his left sole.
The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is considered one of the five majors for the amateurs and has been awarded the ‘Elite’ status by World Amateur Golf Ranking. Organized by the Masters Tournament and the R&A, the champion in Singapore gets a dream invitation to the Masters next year and a spot at the 148th Open Championship in Royal Portrush.
Almulla was delighted with the way he held on and said: “It’s pretty special to be honest. It was my goal this week to play four solid rounds. And to play four solid rounds, you have to make the cut.
“I didn’t play as good as I would have like today. I got off to a bad start and was four-over par after my first nine holes, but I was very proud of the way I held it together on the back nine. It would have been very easy to make a few more bogeys coming in, but I played well and gave myself a lot of birdie chances.
“I am very encouraged with the way I have played the first two days and I guess it is now a case of pushing myself and seeing how high I can go in the leaderboard.”
Almulla refused to blame the blister for his poor front nine effort.
“I wish I could use the blister as an excuse, but that really wasn’t the case. My body is used to heat, but I guess not the type of heat we have here in Singapore. It did not hurt much when I was swinging, but it was definitely painful to walk,” he added.
Asked what plans he had for the weekend, Almulla said: “I know there are some good scores out there.
“I hit only three greens on the front nine today and missed it on the wrong spots. That’s something you just can’t do on this golf course. Over the last two rounds, the one thing I really want to do is hit more greens.”
Almulla was hopeful that his performance here would create more awareness for the game back home, especially among children.
“We have had a few good players from Saudi before, but I think what we now have is some very good support system back home,” he added.
“I am happy to make some history for my country but what would give me more satisfaction is if I can motivate a few youngsters to take up the game thinking that if I can do it, so can they. That would be the best outcome of my efforts here.”
Almulla is scheduled to play the Pan Arab Championship in Tunisia next week.