Saunders fires two under to set pace in Emirates Amateur Open

The 22nd edition of the Emirates Amateur Open teed of for the first time in its illustrious history over the Faldo Course.

The first round of the Championship was keenly contested by 141 competitors over the Faldo designed course with the following 36-holes taking place on the iconic Majlis course, home to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, over the weekend.

With the greens rolling as fast as they’ve been since the course re-opened in 2006 only two competitors managed to post sub par rounds. The early pace setter is Michael Saunders, representing Dartford Golf Club in the UK. Commencing his round from the 10th tee he got off to a great start with birdies at the difficult 14th and 16th holes to see him to the turn in 35 strokes, 2-under par. His consistent play continued on the inward half and he picked up another shot on the 427-yard 6th hole to take him to 3-under for the tournament. He gave one back on the short 8th to post a best of the day 71.

His closest rival, fresh from his debut appearance in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, is Khalid Attieh. Full of confidence from last week he carded a 1-under par 72 that included four birdies in his opening seven holes. They came at the 10th, 11th, 14th and 16th but he gave one back at the par-5 13th to see him out in 34, 3-under par. A costly double bogey on his 16th hole, the 426-yard 7th, resulted in a 72. Khalid must be a strong contender over the weekend following the experience he gained over the Majlis layout a week ago.

Further back are Harry Diamond and Ronan O’Reilly on 74 with Scott Nightingale, the 2007 Champion, two over on 75.  A quartet of players signed for a 76 including Joel Neale, Mark Williams, Philip Ridden and Miki Mirza.

The Championship will continue at 7:00am tomorrow over the Majlis. In total 57 golf clubs are represented including Calcutta Golf Club, Shadow Hawk Golf Club (USA), Gezira Sporting Club (Egypt), Keeple Golf Club (Singapore) and Worthing Golf Club (UK).