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Juan Manuel Fuentes Perez, the former Royal Golf Club teaching professional and now Bahrain Olympic Committee national team coach, soared to success on his first time on sand by taking the Bahrain Open Golf Championship by storm at Awali Golf Club.
He proved once again to be ‘the Juan and only’ by maintaining an overnight lead and marking the competition’s best score over nine holes - a blistering 3-3-3-3-3-4-4-4-3 - for a back nine totalling 30, 5-under for the nine.
“I’m happy to win against such a talented field of players,” said Perez, who as a child received coaching from the late great Severiano Ballesteros. He started playing the game at nine and went on to become a four-time winner of the Andalusian Professional Golf Tour, the Spanish region of his birth.
Marking its 55th year, in relatively calm conditions on Friday, but strengthening southerly wind conditions for Saturday, 103 players drove, chipped and putted around the 18 hole course, playing from the Championship tee positions, which add a further 376 yards to the 6,309 yards length of the normal course.
The field saw the return of many past winners, including 2017’s champion Saleh Ali Al Kaabi. Saleh commenced his Day 1 play in a very confident style with a front nine of 31 - 4 under - helped by an eagle, gross-3 on the par-5 Hole 9. However, he did not manage to maintain his storming start for the back nine, three bogeys and a double bogey on the par-4 Hole 16 for 39 resulting in a round of even gross-70.
Although somewhat slower out of the blocks with a front nine of 36, after his confidence-boosting eagle-3 on Hole-9, his day’s total of 4-under 66 saw him at the top of the overnight leader board.
However, Perez’s overnight lead was only a slim one stroke, and thus the final outcome was by no means certain.
The second day saw a few changes. It got windy, it got dusty, and chasing the leader Fuentes Perez, a few players needed to find something special.
Saleh Ali Al Kaabi made a gallant attempt, improving on his Day 1 score with 68 for a total of 138, similarly Jamie Elson with 69 for a total of 139, overnight second placed Sultan Al Hakam not sustaining his earlier play, carding 72 for 139 also. But what did not change was the top line of the leader board. Updated after 27 holes of play and every three holes thereafter, Perez remained challenged but always on top.
His Day 2 play suffered only one wobble, with the Hole 5 tee shot finding deep right rough and needing a penalty drop, resulting in a bogey-6 for this par-5. This was his only bogey over 36 holes and he demonstrated his dominance of the competition with a suitably fitting performance for his final hole, the 521 yard par-5.
Keeping a cool head and playing tactically, Fuentes Peres chose a 3-iron for his tee shot rather than the more usual driver. Perfectly into the centre of the fairway, his mid-iron second shot saw him finding the middle of the green, four metres from the pin. With a putt for eagle that was just shy of the required distance, his birdie tap-in sealed victory, finishing the round at 4-under, four shots clear of runner up Saleh Ali Al Kaabi.
Club Captain Paul Anderson commenced the post-golf presentation with thanks to all those that had made the event happen - the sponsors, the tireless organising committee, the grounds and clubhouse staff, and the multitude of helpers. Also, he thanked the players, especially those who were based overseas, had driven or flown in, and who give the competition its international flavour.
Representing Bapco, Khalid Sabbagh, GM Special Projects, expressed Bapco’s pleasure at having been the major sponsor for the event over its history, and how the company hoped to continue in the same vein for many years into the future.
Full results:
Overall winner, 55th Bahrain Open Champion: Juan Manuel Fuentes Perez -4 (136 - 66/70), 2nd: Saleh Ali Musbah Al Kaabi -2 (138 - 70/68), 3rd: Jamie Elson -1 (139 - 70/69), 4th: Sultan Al Hakam -1 (139 - 67/72), 5th: Hamad Mubarak Al Afnan +3 (143 - 70/73), 6th: Nasser Yaqoob +4 (144 - 69/75), 7th: Essa Ebrahim +6 (146 - 72/74), 8th: Abdulla Al Hakam +7 (147 - 73/74), 9th: Khalid Salem +7 (147 - 68/79), 10th: Hussain Salem +8 (148 - 74/74). Prizes awarded for those not in the main prizes: best gross Day-1 Dave Park (71), best gross Day-2 Mohammed Al Marisi (72), best nett overall Hamad Fares Al Qutami (138 - 67/71), best nett Day-1 Mohammed Hamad Al Aathem (65), best nett Day-2 Eid Murshed (65).
