GOLF – Aadam Syed of Pakistan was yesterday crowned champion of the sixth Bahrain Amateur Open golf championship, which came to a close at the Royal Golf Club.
Syed clinched the coveted title after finishing the three-day, 54-hole strokeplay competition with a 13-under-par total of 203. He carded a four-under 68 over yesterday’s final 18 holes, capping a sensational and consistent performance in his maiden tournament in the Middle East.
Syed headed into the last round as the overnight leader and held on to the top spot while finishing four shots ahead of his closest challenger.
Along with his champion’s trophy, Syed also claimed a spot on next year’s prestigious Bahrain Championship, to be held as part of the 2025 DP World Tour. Yaseen Le Falher will join him in the event having finished yesterday as the top-ranked Bahraini player.
“It’s my first time in Bahrain and I’ve loved it,” Syed told the GDN. “It’s been a good experience, the golf has been amazing, and I’ve enjoyed every second of being in the country.”
Syed shrugged off a rough start yesterday after bogeying two of the first four holes. He birdied the par-five ninth, which helped him regain his form, and eventually finished the day strong, carding five more birdies on the back nine to secure the title.
“I was hitting the ball well leading up to the event so I was pretty confident and I just stayed patient,” Syed said. “I didn’t get off to the best start on the last day today but I took confidence knowing that I could make lots of birdies.
“The course is really good so if you hit good shots, you’re going to get rewarded, and I just hit good shots and holed a few putts.”
The University of Tampa graduate, who was born and grew up in the UK, said that he competed in Bahrain as part of his preparations for the Asian Tour Qualifying School.
“I’ve got a run of tournaments leading up to the Q School – this being the first,” he explained. “The weather is not so great right now in the UK so I thought I’d start my training camp for the Q School here.
“There was a great quality field; I was very impressed by the level of the players, and I had a really good time competing. It’s the best way to start getting ready for the Q School, and inshallah I’ll come back for the King Hamad Trophy (KHT) next month.”
Also with his win yesterday, Syed earned a spot in the 16th edition of the KHT, along with the other top 10 players and ties, excluding Bahrain’s national team golfers.
Finishing as this year’s overall runner-up was Briton Jay Mullane, who carded a nine-under-par, three-day total of 207. He played a four-under 68 yesterday, which was his best of the competition.
Issa Abou El Ela of Egypt came third, finishing on an eight-under 208 score after going for an even-par 72 in the final round.
Le Falher followed just one more stroke behind. He enjoyed the third round’s best outing of five-under 67 to finish with a seven-under-par 209 total. He is now looking forward to representing the kingdom on his home course at next year’s Bahrain Championship.
“I played well the entire week – a lot of hard work put in so I felt quite comfortable, even under pressure today when I knew there was the spot in the DP World Tour up for grabs,” Le Falher told the GDN. “Even over the last four holes, I was under pressure, but I had a good round.
“The DP World Tour should be good fun. Obviously, there will be some nerves, but I’ll want to take as much pleasure out of it as possible and try to enjoy it; go in there with no expectations – kind of like how I felt this week – play as well as I can, and represent Bahrain as best as possible.”
The sixth Bahrain Amateur Open was organised and is being run by the Bahrain Golf Association (BGA). It was a World Amateur Golf Ranking counting event.
A field of more than 90 golfers teed off in the event.
Following yesterday’s action, the winners were awarded their prizes by BGA president Major General Ali bin Saqr Al Nuaimi.
Syed has joined the Bahrain Amateur Open champion’s list that includes Ali Al Kuwari, who triumphed in the first-ever edition of the competition in 2019; Ahmed Al Zayed, who is the only two-time winner, having clinched the title in 2020 and 2022; Khalifa Al Meraisi, the victor in 2021; and Khalid Attieh of Saudi Arabia, who won last year did not return to defend his crown.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
PRIZE WINNERS
54-Hole Gross: 1 Aadam Syed (203), 2 Jay Mullane (207), 3 Issa Abou El Ela (208), 4 Yaseen El Falher (209), 5 Mousa Shanaah (211), 6 Daniel Owen (213)
54-Hole Nett: 1 Hashem Shanaah (197), 2 Turki Alhussain (210), 3 Emanuele Galeppini (214)
Best Junior Gross: Daniil Sokolov (218)
Final Day: Best Gross, Khalifa Duaij (66); Best Nett, James Blackwell (69)
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