Oman Golf Committee to host inaugural Junior Open on April 15

Muscat: The Oman Golf Committee (OGC) is all set to tee off a brand new tournament for junior golfers in the Sultanate, the OGC Junior Open.
The governing body of Oman golf will oranise the inaugural edition of the championship, with the support from Oman LNG and Trowers & Hamlins, at Almouj Golf on April 15.
The tournament is open to young golfers aged between six and 16 years, both Omanis as well as other nationalities residing in the country. The event will feature a total of 54 participants.
Mundhir Al Barwani, the Chairman of the OGC, said: “We are happy to announce that for the first time, we are going to organise a golf tournament exclusively for juniors. We have been planning for this kind of tournament for long. We are happy that finally it is here to come.”
The OGC has been running its junior programmes at various levels at its four affiliated clubs throughout the year. The OGC’s junior programme is fully subsidised and the kids get free training from PGA Pro coaches like Milo Breitenwischer.
The OGC’s other successful junior programme which was launched last year is the School Golf Initiative where the OGC coach goes out to schools to introduce golf to the kids and train them in the basics of the game.
Hailing the event, Al Barwani concluded: “We have our junior programmes at various levels. So we wanted the kids to be in competition mode.
"They will be introduced to the tournament rules and regulations, field experience and feel the competition. We hope they will enjoy this fun game and it will be a successful event.”
Players from all the OGC affiliated units, Ghala Golf Club, Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club, Almouj Golf and Ras Al Hamra are set to participate in this fun competition.
The tournament will be played at the academy par-3 course of Almouj Golf and is open strictly for kids without any handicap. There will be two participating groups - under-9 as well as 9-16 years group.
The Under-9 group kids, who will be playing in a 5-hole game, would tee off at 10 a.m. and the rest will tee off at noon for a 9-hole competition. Almouj Golf and the OGC welcome the participation of parents as well as volunteers. The one-day event will end with a prize distribution ceremony at 2.30 p.m on the same day.
Ahmed Al Jhadhamy, the Vice-Chairman of the OGC, said: “We would like to have parents as volunteers for the event, because kids need their parents beside them all the time. It would be a great experience for the parents as well.”
The registration for the competition will begin next week and will close on April 12.