The 5th annual RAK Mixed Open took centre stage at Al Hamra Golf Club on the first Friday in May. A fantastic day of weather and golf prevailed as some of the finest men and women golfers in the region battled it out to try and claim the title. The tournament was kindly sponsored and supported by Banyan Tree – Al Wadi who provided player gift packs, many tremendous prizes for the winners and a sumptuous presentation buffet

The Mixed Open’s format for this year was a one day betterball stableford with a 1.30pm shotgun start with the team who carded the highest number of points being crowned the 2011 Champions.

As the final scores were calculated it was the pairing of Gary Langthorne and Wendy Ayling who carded 40 points with a back nine of 21 which was enough for them to secure third spot by 1 point. Second place went to Sergy and Serifa D’Souza who carded a great score of 42 points.

The special events consisted of nearest the pins on all four par 3’s, which were won by Lesley Mullen on the 4th, Sergy D’Souza on the 7th, Serge Rahman on the 11th and Louis Gosslin on the 15th.

The overall winners and 5th RAK Mixed Open Champions 2011, Mike and Kathy Richardson, claimed their award and the accolades in style as they beat the rest of the field by 2 points. With a front nine of 23 points followed by a back nine of 21 gave the couple a fantastic score of 44 points. This meant that an Al Hamra pair had reclaimed the trophy and as a reward for their fantastic golf and hard work on the course they were presented with a brand new Titleist stand bag and the beautiful mixed open trophy.

“Al Hamra Golf Club is exceptionally proud to hold yet another successful Mixed Open and to have Banyan Tree onboard to sponsor and support the event,” said Andrew Pilfold, Al Hamra’s Director of Golf. “Congratulations must go to Mike and Kathy Richardson for such a splendid day of golf, and also to everybody who took part and making the event such as success.”