Neale Takes Lead in Black Tee Challenge Defence at Emirates Golf Club

Joel Neale heads the field after the opening round of the Black Tee Challenge sponsored by Jumeirah. Having clinched the Championship in the past two years Neale carded a level par round of 73 on a day of high scoring over the tricky Faldo Course.

With the course playing its full length of 7348 yards, Neale teed up in the final match of the day alongside professional and previous Black Tee champion Simon Dunn. Neale got off to a shaky start with a bogey on the first, further dropped shots followed on the 4th and 6th but birdies on the two par fives and a two on the short 8th saw him out in level par 36. He started the inward nine more aggressively with birdies on the 10th, 12th, and 16th holes but gave one back on the 15th and a costly double bogey on the 485-yard 18th  resulted in a level par 73.

He leads the 112 strong field by two shots going into the final round over the famous Majlis course, scene of his play off win last year. His closest rival is Sidney D’souza who signed for a 2-over par 75. A shot further back lies a trio of players including Carl Palmlund, Craig Forrest and Simon Dunn.

Another player to watch in the final round is professional Julian Danby who burst back in to form, following a period out in the wilderness, with a respectable 77 despite four three puts on the undulating greens.
The final round will conclude tomorrow over the Majlis course at approximately 5:30pm.