SGBS (Saudi Golf Business Society) held back-to-back tournaments to close 2012 at Dirab Golf & Country Club and ring in the new year recently.
Winning the two-ball Texas Scramble format competition that followed the stroke play event after a gap of two weeks was the pair of Fahad Almansour, vice president of SGBS, and young Saudi golfer Turki Hussain.
Almansour and Hussain, with a team handicap of 3, posted a net score of 65 to win the tournament that attracted 20 teams and 40 golfers.
Almansour carried the team to victory by holing four birdies, three of them on the back nine. For his part, Hussain had two birdies and two bogeys in the team’s 34-34 round.
Turki’s brother Adullah partnered with Filipino Danny Naval to win second place on countback from Lee William and his junior partner Jal Han Kim after both sides finished on 68. Abdullah and Naval played off 5 handicap and William-Hall off 6.
James Wilkinson and Tariq Khan and the tandem of Jose Vigil and Mike Jones actually also managed 68s to claim the fourth and fifth positions respectively.
Wilkinson was the winner of the longest drive award while Turki claimed the nearest to pin plum.
SGBS President Abdullah Al-Masoud handed over prizes to the winners during the prize distribution ceremony.
Formed in March last year, SGBS aims to promote golf among youngsters in Saudi Arabia, support charity projects and build business links through golf.
As the year drew to a close, SGBS organized a Thursday afternoon stroke play tournament that attracted 40 players.
The Best Gross and Best Net winners were the father-and-son tandem of M. S. Kim and Jan Hal Kim, who shot 74 and 71 respectively.
Almansour and his younger brother Abdulrahman finished second and third in Best Gross category on 73 and 79.
Shahid Rabani and Juan Rosado rounded out the first three Best Net winners on countback after both players returned 74.
The longest drive award went to Rusty Dagget and the closest to pin accolade to taekwondo master Kim.
Fahad, Turki win SGBS Texas Scramble tourney
Fahad, Turki win SGBS Texas Scramble tourney
Pakistan rejects claims it approached ICC for dialogue over India match boycott
- Indian journalist Vikrant Gupta says Pakistan approached ICC after it informed PCB of legal ramifications of boycotting India clash
- Pakistan’s government has allowed national team to take part in ongoing World Cup but barred it from playing against India on Feb. 15
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) this week rejected an Indian journalist’s claim that it has approached the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a dialogue regarding Pakistan’s upcoming cricket fixture against India.
Indian sports journalist Vikrant Gupta wrote on social media platform X on Saturday that the PCB has reached out to the ICC for dialogue over its decision to boycott the Feb. 15 T20 World Cup match against India.
Gupta said the development took place after the ICC informed the PCB of the legal ramifications and potential sanctions the cricket governing body could impose if Pakistan boycotted its World Cup match against India.
Gupta said the ICC was responding to the PCB, which had informed the global cricket governing body in writing that it was pulling out of the match as Pakistan’s government had not allowed the national team to play the Feb. 15 fixture.
“I categorically reject the claim by Indian sports journalist Vikrant Gupta that PCB approached the ICC,” PCB spokesperson Amir Mir said in a statement on Saturday.
“As usual, sections of Indian media are busy circulating fiction. A little patience and time will clearly show who actually went knocking and who didn’t.”
Pakistan’s government earlier this month cleared the team’s participation in the T20 World Cup but barred them from facing India in Colombo on Feb. 15.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later said the decision was taken to express solidarity with Bangladesh, after it was replaced by the ICC in the ongoing tournament.
ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland last month after the latter refused to play its World Cup matches in India due to security reasons.
Pakistan has blamed India’s cricket board for influencing the ICC’s decisions. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif this week called for a the formation of a new cricket governing body, saying the ICC is now hostage to “India’s political interests.”
India generates the largest share of cricket’s commercial revenue and hence enjoys considerable influence over the sport. Critics argue that this financial contribution translates into decisive leverage within the ICC.
A large part of that revenue comes from the Indian Premier League (IPL), the sport’s most lucrative T20 cricket competition, which is run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Between 2024 and 2027, the IPL is projected to earn $1.15 billion, nearly 39 percent of the ICC’s total annual revenue, according to international media reports.
The ICC is headed by Jay Shah, the son of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah. The ICC chair is expected to be independent from any cricket board and take impartial decisions.
