GOLF – British golfer Tom Sloman will be defending his title this weekend in the 17th edition of the prestigious King Hamad Trophy golf championship, scheduled to be held from Thursday to Saturday at Royal Golf Club.
Sloman spearheads a high-quality field of 90 players, both professionals and amateurs, representing more than 20 nations from around the world, the Bahrain Golf Association (BGA) confirmed yesterday to the GDN.
Sloman, who won last year’s title as well as in 2022, is joined in the 54-hole strokeplay tournament this year by the other champions from the past four editions, including 2023 winner Cole Madey from the US and 2021 victor Ahmed Marjan from Morocco.
Other top golfers from Britain, China, Egypt, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tunisia, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the US, and hosts Bahrain are also in the fray.
Amongst the kingdom’s hopefuls are top national team players Ahmed Alzayed, Ali Alkowari, Khalifa Duaij Alkaabi, and Yaseen Le Falher, to name only a few.
The championship is being organised and run by the BGA, and it is being held under the royal patronage of His Majesty King Hamad.
Participants will be able to play a practice round tomorrow, setting the stage for the start of competition on Thursday.
After the first two rounds, a cut will be made with the leading 45 players and ties making it through to the final day.
The winner of this year’s tournament will receive an invitation to compete in the DP World Tour’s Bahrain Championship in 2026.
The leading 10 professionals will also receive cash prizes, with the champion pocketing $10,000.
The runner-up will come away with $6,800 and the third-placer gets $4,600.
The leading 10 amateurs will receive in-kind prizes, while there will also be a special prize for the best Bahraini player along with other consolation prizes.
Sloman won the 2024 crown following an exciting single-hole play-off against Hugo Trommetter of Morocco.
The pair headed into the decisive one-on-one after posting four-under-par 212 totals at the end of 54 holes.
The play-off took place on the par-four 18th, and Sloman sealed his triumph after sinking a 20-foot birdie putt.
The 2026 edition of the Bahrain Championship will take place from January 29 to February 1 as part of the DP World Tour’s international swing.
It will be one of more than 40 tournaments in at least 26 different countries on the DP World Tour’s schedule next year.
The Bahrain Championship in 2026 will be the third edition of the kingdom’s biggest golf tournament, which has attracted leading professionals from around the world.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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