The initiative introduced at last season’s NBO Golf Classic Grand Final with the Omani Challenge, in which Omani amateurs competed in their own championship during the season-ending climax to the European Challenge Tour at Al Mouj Golf, has taken a giant step forward this year.
In 2015 just six Omani amateurs took part in the event but this year 37 golfers have already confirmed their entries in to play the NBO Omani Amateur Strokeplay Championship Supported by Golf Oman, which is open to all Omani amateur golfers with a registered handicap.
The opening round will be played on Thursday November 3, at Ras Al Hamra Golf Club, Oman, with the top 12 players qualifying to play in the Final at Almouj Golf, Muscat, Oman, on Friday November 4, following the completion of the third round of the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final.
The winner and runner-up of the Final at Al Mouj will qualify to represent Oman at the prestigious King Hamad Trophy at The Royal Golf Club in Bahrain on November 24-26.
Azaan Al Rumhy, Oman’s leading amateur golfer, welcomed the enhanced NBO Omani Amateur Strokeplay Championship, saying: “This expanded Omani Amateur Championship is a fantastic addition to the season’s calendar. It’s an encouraging sign of the growing popularity and growth of golf in Oman that 37 golfers of all ages and abilities have committed to play the event.
“This will be the first and only Omani golf tournament I have played since I started playing golf in 1981. My brother, Hamed and my father, Mohammed (the Oman Oil Minister) and I will certainly be playing and it’s great to see the members of the Oman Golf Team and the Oman Junior Team in the field. It’s good that there are so many opportunities for amateurs to play in competitive golf tournaments in the region.
“If I can finish first or runner-up in the big amateur event at Almouj it would be an honour to represent Oman in the King Hamed Trophy on November 24-26. It’s a great tournament hosted by the Bahrain Golf Federation.”
