By Kent Gray
Few players are looking forward to the 2nd edition of the Saudi International powered SoftBank Investment Advisers more than Saud Alsharif.

The 20-year-old amateur carded rounds of 79-80 to miss the weekend in the inaugural edition of the $3.5 million European Tour event last February but has been inspired to develop his game with an eye to his return to Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

“I played decent last year. It was pretty tough as playing in such a big event was very new to me. I was expecting a lot from myself, which I think actually weighed me down a bit,” Alsharif said.

“But this time I’m going to go in fresh, with the same high expectations, but trusting my game and I believe that will allow me to play well.”

Saudi’s leading amateur says the Kingdom’s increasing love of the game has been pivotal in his preparation, along with the support of the wider Middle East golf community.

The big-hitter has just completed a month’s training with the Saudi Arabia Golf Federation-backed national team at the Claude Harman III Performance Golf Academy in Dubai alongside amateur teammate Faisal Salhab, who will also compete in the Saudi International. The Kingdom’s pioneering professional Othman Almulla will complete the Saudi contingent at Royal Greens.

“The golf community in Saudi is very, very supportive. We get players at a young age into the game and try and make them love the game. We have very talented players coming through the ranks and we will keep on growing with the community and the support we get around it.

“Our National Team coaches too are very, very good guys. I’ve benefitted so much from just seeing them even in the last month alone, and I played really well in [recent competitions in] Morocco and Oman.

“We’re just trying to work on our mentality with coach Jamie McConnell, who’ll be my caddie at the Saudi International. There’s nothing to worry about in terms of my technique at the moment – it’s all about keeping my head in the game and that’s what I need to do.”

With world No.1 Brooks Koepka headlining a stellar field including defending champion Dustin Johnson, claret jug holder Shane Lowry and fan-favourite Phil Mickelson, you might expect Alsharif to be overawed by the exalted company. But the youngster is taking it all in his stride.

“I always tell myself that if I play with better players, I am only going to benefit from that. That is the mentality every kid should have, especially if they want to take the game on more seriously. You should always seek to play with better players, no matter the age difference. Just try and be competitive.”

“It is very, very good for us to have this calibre of players playing in the second Saudi International. It’s a real pleasure for me to be part of that field, and I would love to take the opportunity to play well. I think the tournament is going to keep helping Saudi golf and benefit the community around it.”