Omega Dubai Desert Classic News

All 3 Mena Golf Tour stars make the Omega Dubai Desert Classic cut

Jake Shepherd, Peter Richardson and Sean McNamara on Friday showed they have the stomach to confront the ‘big boys’ head-on when they made the cut in their very first appearance in a European Tour event on Friday.

The trio, who took the MENA Golf Tour to ‘qualify’ for the Omega Dubai Desert Classic after finishing among top three on the Order of Merit, passed the first major test of their careers with some solid performance when it mattered most.

At halfway stage, Richardson, the best of the lot, was three under for the tournament while Shepherd and McNamara needed to hold their nerve to post the magic number of one-under they required to make it to the weekend.

England’s Shepherd and American McNamara will be the first to tee off along with Floris de Vries of Netherland in the penultimate round at 7.30 while Richardson is grouped with Jbe Kruger and Bernd Wiesberger for 9am tee time.

“We can only thank the MENA Tour for providing an opportunity to compete at this grand stage,” said Richardson, who followed his first-round with another sub-par score of 71. “The major test is over, but this doesn’t mean the job is done.

“I am not going to do anything differently in the remaining rounds, but the mind will certainly be more relaxed. Hope, I can do even better. I think I struck the ball very well in the first round, but the second was more kind of an up-and-down affair,” said Richardson who promises to return for the next edition of the MENA Tour.

Shepherd was equally thrilled after making the cut. “To say that I was nervous is a massive understatement. I was nervous playing on the MENA Tour and you can well imagine how I must have felt out there playing on this grand stage.

“Well, I am looking forward to competing at the weekend. It should be fun,” said the Englishman.

Photo: Jake Shepherd one of the Mena Golf Tour trio with his prizes previously

Mohamed Juma Buamaim, vice chairman and CEO of golf in DUBAi, congratulated the boys on their what he called “an impressive performance under pressure.”

“The fact that they made the cut shows emerging players need a platform like that of MENA Tour to enhance their career. I am sure their performance will encourage other professionals to join the tour.

“This is just the beginning. Who knows we may have more players climbing the ladder of success via the MENA Tour. I wish them the very best.”

Other MENA Golf Tour players who played on special invitations – Ross Bain (four over), Younes El Hassani (four over) and Ross Canavan (nine over) — slipped well below the leaderboard along with amateurs Ahmed Marjan (11 over) and Ahmed Al Musharrekh.

Al Musharrekh can take a lot of positives from his exposure in the event, having finished on four-over-par 148, studded with a level-par 72 he shot in the second round. “I think I enjoyed playing in the tournament and could have made the cut, but missed some silly putts,” he said.

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