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Malattiri reigns supreme

Firing a four-under-par 68, Malattiri captured the title with one shot to spare from runner-up Aqeel Hemraj at the Emirates Golf Club.

Dubai — Kuttan Malattiri has become the first winner of the Porsche Centre Dubai Champions Trophy after the climax of an exciting new series of events lighting up the UAE golf scene.

Firing a four-under-par 68, Malattiri captured the title with one shot to spare from runner-up Aqeel Hemraj at the Emirates Golf Club.

Malattiri said: “Winning the event was a truly great experience. The qualifying stages were really tough and just to make it through to the final was an amazing achievement. I was just hoping to play well on the day but to go all the way and win the trophy was remarkable. Porsche have done a great job of organising such a wonderful competition and I look forward to being a part of this tournament every season.”

Craig Dunn secured third place with a score of two-under-par 70 in the, while Lionel Smith finished fourth with a level par 72.

In the ladies division, Daniella Sacchini took first place following a magnificent six-under-par 66, with Rekha Bandapadhyay finishing runner-up on 73.

The Champions Trophy featured 16 players who qualified through the Porsche Centre Dubai Match Play Series, which was staged over a period of seven months. They were joined by the top six players from last year’s Ramadan Cup and eight ladies in the guest division.

Vijay Rao, general manager of Porsche Centre Dubai, Al Nabooda Automobiles, said: “We’re delighted with the response we have received from our first full season of golf events.”

The inaugural Match Play event, which concluded in April, was open to all amateur UAE resident golfers and saw 88 players competing in the men’s singles and 76 in the doubles. The inaugural Porsche Ramadan Cup attracted a field of 95 golfers.