American Catlin continues to lead and a Moroccan qualifies in the Saudi Open Golf Championship

SME-Coverage/Samir Boussad
American golfer John Catlin maintained the lead in the Saudi Open Golf Championship, presented by the Investment Fund, whose competitions are held at the Riyadh Golf Club and continue until Saturday, April 20.
Catlin scored the best shots to ensure qualification to the final round competitions, while the Chinese Hantong Li, a member of the DP World Tour, and the Australian Scott Hind succeeded in taking advantage of the morning conditions, as they presented a distinguished performance that placed them directly behind the American Catlin in the overall standings after the end of the competitions of the second day of the tournament.
Player Khaled Attiya was about to make history as the first Saudi player to qualify for the final rounds alongside the best 66 players since the tournament was raised to be one of the Asian rounds, but luck was against him after he scored three over par in the last nine holes, which kept him from qualifying for the final rounds. .
The two Moroccan golfers, Ayoub Laguirati and Othman Rouzi, finished in a position that qualified them for the final rounds of the tournament, where they participated at the invitation of Saudi Golf and the Arab Golf Federation and were given the opportunity to compete alongside the most important Asian names.
He said to Guirati: “It was a positive day for me. I stuck to my strategy all day and finished with a good result in light of tough competition.”
He added: “I am very happy that I have qualified in this tournament and played during the next two days, in addition to the fact that I am playing for the second time in this tournament, which is considered an Asian tour, with the support of the Moroccan Golf Association, Saudi Golf, and the Arab Golf Federation, who contributed to me reaching this level.”
Returning to the Chinese player, Li, who confirmed that he is very excited to participate in the Saudi Open Golf Championship presented by the Public Investment Fund, as he looks forward to advancing on the leaderboard.
He told me: “I played well and missed some opportunities. I played the second day much easier compared to the first day, because there was no wind, so things were easier for me, although I am still suffering from the tee, but other than that, everything is strong in general. I am here to try.” “Get the job done and get the trophy, so I hope it’s a good start on the third day of the tournament.”