GOLF – Briton Tom Sloman completed a hat-trick of titles yesterday in the King Hamad Trophy golf championship, which came to a close at Royal Golf Club.
Sloman secured the crown in the event’s 17th edition after finishing the 54-hole event two shots clear of the rest of the high-quality field.
Sloman carded a five-under-par 67 yesterday to add to his 69 and 67 scores from days one and two to complete his triumphant campaign at 13-under 203.
He thus emerged victorious in the King Hamad Trophy for the second straight year, while also adding to his maiden title in 2022.
Following yesterday’s play, the awarding ceremony was held, attended by General Sports Authority deputy chairman and Bahrain Combat Sports Council president Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.
Also on hand were Bahrain Golf Association (BGA) president Major-General Ali Saqer Al Noaimi, BGA vice-president Duaij Khalifa Al Eid, other high-ranking BGA officials, and VIP guests representing sponsors.
Along with his champion’s trophy and the cool $10,000 cash prize for first place, Sloman earned an invitation to compete in the Bahrain Championship on next year’s DP World Tour.
“I wasn’t really playing very well this week, to be honest – I played terribly in the pro-am [on Wednesday] and in the first two rounds I didn’t do very well either,” Sloman told the GDN after the awards presentation.
“Today, I wasn’t really expecting much; I just went out and wanted to have a good finish, so that definitely helped.
“There are always a lot of good players in this tournament, so it’s going to be good scoring no matter what.”
Sloman’s third King Hamad Trophy title edged him closer to the record five King Hamad Trophy wins held by fellow-British golfer Andrew Marshall.
“Hopefully I’ll be on the European Tour next year, but if I do come back here, I’ll try and get closer to Andrew, for sure,” Sloman said.
“It’s beautiful here – the weather is definitely better than it is in England, and I love the course.”
Sloman’s final round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-five 14th.
That paved the way for his strong finish, birdieing two of the last three holes, including the 18th, which helped him preserve his lead with Irish golfer Aodhagan Brady right behind.
Brady finished as the runner-up – and was also the tournament’s leading amateur – with an 11-under-par total of 205.
He played a three-under 69 yesterday, which included a birdie putt on the last hole to apply some pressure on Sloman.
Joel Stalter from France came third at nine-under 207 after going one-under 71 yesterday.
All three of the top-placers were level atop the leaderboard heading into the concluding 18 holes, which was a first for the competition, according to the BGA.
Finishing fourth was Ahmed Ali from the US at eight-under 208, while former champion Cole Madey, also from the US, was tied fifth with British amateur Luke Jenkins, both on six-under 210 totals.
Completing the top 10 were Barnes Wallis from Britain and Luis Ferreira da Silva from Portugal in tied-seventh (four-under-par, 212), former title winner Luke Joy from Britain (three-under, 213) in ninth, and Joshua Greenville-Wood from the UAE along with Oscar Craig from Britain (two-under, 214) in tied-10th.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Alzayed emerged as the best-ranked golfer from this year’s King Hamad Trophy as he finished tied-35th at nine-over-par 225.
He was one of two of the kingdom’s top talents to make the cut for yesterday’s finale. Yaseen Le Falher was the other.
He ranked tied-40th at 11-over 227.
With his classification, Alzayed also earned a spot in the Bahrain Championship 2026, scheduled to 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 attracts leading professionals from around the world.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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