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Briton Andrew Marshall stormed to victory in the ninth His Majesty King Hamad Golf Championship, held at the Royal Golf Club.
Marshall, who led going into the final round after 12 birdies in his first two, added four more to finish with a score of -14, a total of 202 strokes, to win comfortably by five strokes from Thailand’s Kammalas Namuangrak.
Marshall’s rounds of 69, 65 and 68 were never troubled, and the man who turned professional in 1995, competed in the British Open in 2005 and had a careerhigh world ranking of 73 in 2006 held aloft the trophy on Saturday night.
The former Dubai-based professional enjoys making the regular trip to the island. After a thrilling second day’s play of the 53rd Bahrain Open Championship at Awali Golf Club, earlier this year, Marshall of England’s Bawburgh Golf Club secured the title of Bahrain Open Champion with a magnificent six under par over the two days.
It was the sixth time he had won the Bahrain Open, matching the six Championships won in the past by Nasser Yaqoob and Abdulla Sultan Saleh. There was joy in the kingdom too as Bahrain based Sam Hobday, a former St Christopher’s School pupil, secured an impressive eighth place with rounds of 75, 72 and 69 to finish with an Evens 216, the best score by a local golfer by some distance.
Three of those who finished ahead of him were professionals, too. Another Bahraini, Abdulla Sultan, finished 43rd with a total of 238, a score of +22.
Overall, 96 players from 22 countries took part in one of the golf club’s premier events of the year. Chief sponsor Batelco provided the prizes for the tournament, organised by Bahrain Golf Association. Batelco senior manager for corporate affairs, Osama Al Saad, said: “The event serves to promote Bahrain as a sporting and tourism destination with facilities that compare favourably with those in leading international destinations.
The Colin Montgomerie-designed course is among the leading courses in the region and reflects the high standards that the kingdom strives to uphold.”
