Mexican Abraham Unser continued to lead the rankings of the Saudi International Championship, presented by the Public Investment Fund and sponsored by SoftBank Investment Consulting, with 11 below-average strikes at the conclusion of the second day of the global event, which is considered the largest. Asian Tour tournament for 2023 with a total prize pool of 5 million. American Cameron Young came in second with 10 strikes below average, while Thai Sadom Kayukangana, Australian Mark Lishman and South African Louis Ousthuisen scored 8 strikes below average, in a difficult for players in the atmosphere due to strong winds blowing at the club and at the Royal Greens stadium in the King Abdullah Economic City.
The tournament’s youngest player, Thai’s Ratchanon Shantanawat, also pulled out after recording 7 under-par hits to put the talented 15-year-old star in sixth place alongside Australian Lucas Herbert.
For his part, Unser said after the end of the second day of competition: “I’m happy with how all my first shots of the tournament started, and the same with my shots. I could have hit better on the 17th hole, but I’m very I am happy with the way I have played so far and my physical preparation. I always try to get enough sleep and get up early to practice long and short shots and I will continue this program and I hope the atmosphere will be clear until the end of the days of the championship.” .
Sadom Kayukangana (24), considered one of the best talents on the Asian continent, said: “There was a strong wind yesterday afternoon, but I managed to put on a good game and I am happy to play in the morning session. Today. I hope I can present more tomorrow and on the last day.”
His compatriot, Rachanon Shantanavat, known as ‘TK’, showed an outstanding level which made him show the reason for his presence among the brightest names in the world of golf despite his young age, and the young star said: “I think what I played yesterday was better, but in the end I couldn’t turn around. Here’s the result and I made good use of the chances I had today, especially on the last 11 holes. I am very pleased with today’s round as I have improved in most aspects of the game compared to the last months.”
Saudi Arabian player Saud Al-Sharif withdrew from the competition on the second day of the tournament due to health problems and Englishman Sam Horsfield due to injury. Meanwhile, Moroccan player Mehdi Fakouri had an outstanding achievement by qualifying for the final stage and expressed his satisfaction by saying, “I am very happy to make it to the final stage in a difficult stadium along with the best international players and I am proud of this moment and hope to show the best level in the coming days.”
It is worth noting that the Saudi Arabian International Championship, hosted by the State Investment Fund and sponsored by SoftBank Investment Consulting, is back for the fifth time, with almost 120 elite players from all over the world participating, as well as the top 30 players of the Asian Tour umbrella and a group of brilliant talents in the world. golf.
Competitions of the third day of the International Championship of Saudi Arabia will continue tomorrow, Saturday, February 4th.