Keeping it in the family as Harradine crowned 2013 Abu Dhabi Golf Club Men’s Open Champion
Michael Harradine held his nerve in the final round of the ninth Annual Abu Dhabi Men’s Open, sponsored by Titleist, to clinch the top spot on the National Course designed by his father, Peter Harradine.
After a steady round of 71 on the first day, Michael ‘scrambled’ through the second to take this year’s title with a one-shot victory from PGA professional, Gary Knight, finishing with a round of 74 on a glorious Saturday afternoon at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
“I played very solid on the first day but couldn’t really convert the solid play into a good score which I was slightly disappointed with,” said Michael. It isn’t every day you give yourself a lot of birdie chances and only to convert a few of them was frustrating.
“On the second day I didn’t play anywhere near as well and scrambled a lot to try and keep things going whilst dropping a few shots here and there. Luckily Gary Knight, who was only one or two shots behind me at certain points, made some errors too so it was enough to stay ahead.”
Michael’s father, Peter Harradine, designed the National Course, which is home to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and has played host to the Titleist-sponsored Open for nine years.
The overall best gross score was won by Clemens Dolinar who beat a high-class field with a six over par total of 150. Last year’s Open Champion, Dino Varkey, took second place with a score of 152, closely followed by Bayhaan Lakdawala, who narrowly lost out on second place on count-back.
In the Net division, John Millar took first place with steady rounds of 75 and 71 (146) to beat his closest rival Ian McDowall (148), by just two shots. Third place went to Coner Keegan with a total score of 149 over the two days.
