RIYADH: Top professional Saudi golfers, including Othman Al-Mulla and Saud Al-Sharif, will represent the Kingdom’s national team in the second edition of the Arab Professional Golf Championship in Morocco.
The event will take place at Mazagan Resort in the major port city of El Jadida on Jan. 9-12.
A media statement on Tuesday said that the participation aligns with the efforts of the Saudi Golf Federation to enhance the Kingdom’s presence in the Arab and international sports landscape, and showcase Saudi talent in the sport.
Al-Mulla and Al-Sharif are two prominent names in the Saudi sports scene who aim to achieve strong results in the competition.
Golfers Abdulkarim Al-Najran and Ali Babatin will represent the Kingdom in the amateur category, reflecting the country’s commitment to nurturing and developing young talent in golf.
SGF is dedicated to creating opportunities for Saudi players to compete in major international and regional tournaments, striving for achievements that elevate Saudi Arabia’s global sports standing.
The Arab Professional Golf Championship highlights Saudi and Arab talent while fostering sports interaction in Arab countries.
Organized by the Royal Moroccan Golf Federation in coordination with the Arab Golf Federation, the championship reflects a shared ambition to develop golf in the Arab world, showcase regional talent and strengthen Arab ties through sports excellence.
Saudi golf team to compete in Arab Professional Golf Championship in Morocco
https://arab.news/2939w
Saudi golf team to compete in Arab Professional Golf Championship in Morocco
- Othman Al-Mulla, Saud Al-Sharif among top Saudi golfers taking part in event’s 2nd edition
- Abdulkarim Al-Najran, Ali Babatin to represent Kingdom in amateur category
Al-Taawoun miss chance to go joint-top of SPL in narrow loss to Al-Ittihad
- Third win in as many games for Al-Ittihad as gap to leaders Al-Nassr narrows to eight points
- Only Al-Taawoun’s second loss of the season, their first since their opening-day defeat to Al-Nassr
RIYADH: Sergio Conceicao’s tenure at Al-Ittihad may have found its true starting point.
The defending champions edged this season’s surprise package Al-Taawoun 1-0 in a tense clash at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Saturday to move up to fifth place on 23 points.
Before the Saudi Pro League went on hiatus for more than a month, Conceicao had just one league victory to his name.
To say that start was rocky is an understatement, with defeats to Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli combined with draws against Al-Fayha and Al-Khaleej leaving his opening weeks far from convincing.
Since then, momentum has steadily built.
Wins over Al-Shabab (2-0), NEOM (3-1) and now Al-Taawoun have signalled a clear upturn in form. The Tigers dominated large spells of the contest and, but for a stellar performance in goal by Mailson, could have won by a wider margin.
Breaking down Pericles Chamusca’s Al-Taawoun side was anything but straightforward. The opening 15 minutes saw Al-Ittihad repeatedly caught offside in their attempts to break through, before they began finding space in the box on multiple occasions.
Moussa Diaby found himself through on goal in the 18th minute, only for Mailson to deny him, reacting swiftly again to block Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti’s rebound effort. A minute later, Karim Benzema met the same fate as his header was also kept out by the Brazilian goalkeeper.
That pattern continued throughout the first half.
Al-Ittihad overloaded the box in various ways to pull the Al-Taawoun defenders out of position, but the final touch remained elusive. Benzema attempted to unlock the defence with a clever through ball to Al-Shanqeeti, only for the pass to run beyond the full-back’s reach.
The breakthrough finally arrived early in the second half. Fabinho and Benzema combined just outside the final third before Diaby was released behind the defence, laying the ball off for the marauding Al-Shanqeeti to open the scoring in the 50th minute.
Al-Ittihad pushed for a second goal to put the game beyond doubt, but Mailson, alongside defenders Andrei Girotto and Moustapha Sémbène, stood firm to keep Al-Taawoun in the contest.
The hosts faced a late scare when Abdelfattah Adam headed in what appeared to be a late equaliser, only for a VAR check to identify a foul in the build-up, sending the home fans into rapture as Al-Ittihad saw out the win.
Elsewhere in the Saudi Pro League, Al-Fateh claimed their third successive victory with a 2-0 win over nine-man Al-Shabab in front of a passionate home crowd. Meanwhile, Ben Harburg’s Al-Kholood returned to winning ways with a 5-0 drubbing of Al-Fayha in Al Majma’ah.
On Sunday, Al-Hazem look to extend their good form against NEOM at 6:05pm, while Al-Qadsiah host Al-Riyadh and Al-Hilal travel to Damac, with both fixtures kicking off at 8:30pm.
