With Ahmed Al Musharrekh and Khalid Yousuf recording two of the three best cards of the day, hosts UAE opened up a sizeable 17-shot lead at the end of Day 2 of the 16th GCC Golf Championship at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club.
Ahmed followed up his opening round 70 with an even-par round of 71, while Khalid shot a one-over par 72 as the UAE tallied a second-round team score of 221 for a total of 447. Sohail Al Marzouqi contributed a 78 as the third-best score of the team.
Bahrain, who were tied for the lead with the UAE overnight, slipped badly and added 238 to be second at 464. That kept them just four shots ahead of the fourth-placed Qatar team, who put up a much improved performance to add 228 to their overnight 240.
Qatar were greatly helped by the day’s best card of one-under par 70 by Ghanim Al Kuwari, while Abdulrahman Al Bishi (77) and Saleh Al Kaabi (81) also contributed.
Al Musharrekh also consolidated his lead in the individual championship. With rounds of 70 and 71, he is a good seven shots ahead of Khalid (76-72). Bahrain’s Nasser Yacoub Saleh is tied third on a gross 150 (70-80) with Al Kuwari (80-70).
Al Musharrekh said: “We are in a good position to press home the advantage, but nothing can be taken for granted as we still have to play one more round. It was nice to see Khalid and, especially, Sohail turning in a super performance today.”
Meanwhile, the UAE junior team, comprising Abdullah Darwish Al Qubaisi, Ahmed Skaik and Faisal Al Marzouqi, failed to defend their crown. Champions last year, the UAE finished third with a two-round score of 362, which was 32 shots behind winners Saudi Arabia.
