HUA HIN, Thailand: After making the cut at the Black Mountain Championship at Hua Hin in Thailand on Friday, Saudi golfer Khalid Walid Attieh had mixed fortunes as he faced challenging conditions during his third round on Saturday.
It is the second time in five events of this season’s International Series that the 29-year-old has advanced to the final two rounds, following his success at the season-opener in Oman in February when he became the first Saudi amateur to make the cut in a professional tournament.
His campaign at Black Mountain Golf Club began with a solid, 4-under-par 68 on Thursday, followed by a 2-under 70 on Friday.
Battling tricky conditions in the third round, the Riyadh-born golfer recorded four birdies and a bogey on the front nine but dropped five shots on the back nine to card a one-over-par 73.
Reflecting on his performance in the tournament so far, Attieh said he is proud to be representing the Kingdom on a global stage.
“It’s such a great event,” he said. “I am very grateful to the Saudi Golf Federation and the International Series for giving me a spot, and obviously to represent my country, it’s been very special.
“Everyone here on the Asian Tour is super nice as well, and I got to play with some really nice guys and some good people, and then also the people running the tournament are doing an amazing job. So, nothing but positives here.”
It is the second time in five events of this season’s International Series that the 29-year-old has advanced to the final two rounds. (Supplied)
Attieh said he has been impressed by the sense of camaraderie on the Asian Tour, including the welcoming attitude of players and tournament officials alike.
“Everyone has been super supportive,” he said. “It’s a tight-knit community where once you’ve played with someone, they become a friend for life. That’s not something you find everywhere.”
Black Mountain marks the start of a demanding concluding run of six events in just eight weeks for the 10-event International Series. Despite the challenge this poses, Attieh remains happy with his progress so far and optimistic about his chances, especially after his tied-for-69th finish in Oman.
“It’s been great,” he said. “I’ve been playing some good golf so it’s nice finally to see all the hard work pay off. I have put in a lot of time, a lot of effort and finally I get to see some results.
“I think this week it definitely felt like that. At one stage I thought I could be even further up the leaderboard and I think it was just a few mental errors on the back nine that cost me a little bit. But I am happy, overall, with where the game is and I think that, moving forward, it’s going to give me a lot of confidence.”
When the Black Mountain Championship concludes on Sunday, Attieh’s focus will shift to next weekend and a second International Series event in Thailand, at the Thai Country Club from Oct. 24-27.
