Newbie Vance claims the Richmond Trading Black Tee No Challenge in RAK

The second instalment of the RAK Black Tee Challenge took place at both the RAK courses of Tower Links and Al Hamra over the weekend of the 21st and 22nd February.

This time the competition had the pleasure of being sponsored by Richmond Trading Co. LLC who are a local business that have come on board and supported several RAK events. With the men teeing it up of the back Black Tees and the ladies teeing it up of the White’s it was surely going to be an interesting and challenging event.
Day 1 took place on the challenging mangrove winding Tower Links course which saw new Tower Links member Craig Vance post an awe inspiring 3 under par round of 69, which after dropping 1 shot on the outward nine carded an impressive 4 birdies on the back for a inward nine of 32, 10 shots better than his nearest competitor Jong Park who posted a 79. This would surely take a lot of pressure of Craig going into the second and final day with the tournament seemingly already wrapped up. Craig and Jong were also both leaders in the Net Division on 70 and 73 respectively, with the treo of Mohamed Darwish, Curtis Heges, and Derek Fisher sniffing closely behind.

Day 2 would begin early Saturday morning over the pristine Al Hamra Championship Course with the tournament leaders teeing it up last. Zi Hao Su of Al Badia carded the best Day 2 score with 76, which added to his first day score of 80 would give him a 156 tournament total and enough to claim runner-up overall, 5 shots clear of third place James Jackson. Craig lapsed a little on Day 2 only managing a 78. After starting with a positive level par front nine of 36 he unfortunately fell apart on the back nine scoring 42 including double bogies on holes 12 and 17.

This was however enough to see him finish 9 clear at the top of leader board and the pleasure of being crowned the Richmond Trading RAK Black Tee Challenge Champion. The Net Division saw Alistair Purves take top honours by one shot after carding a solid net 73 on Day 2 to add to his Day 1 score of 79 for a 152 winning total. Curtis Heges picked up the Net runner-up prize after rounds of 75 and 78 which was 2 shots clear of Derek Fisher in third.
The Ladies Division saw Rita Engelbrecht claim top gross honours with a completion total of 181, 9 shots clear of her nearest challenger. The Net prize was scooped up by Tower Links member Pat Mottershead whose total of 162 was enough for a 2 shot winning margin.

Tournament Winners
Gross
1st Place

Craig Vance – 147

2nd Place

Zi Hao Su – 156

3rd Place

James Jackson – 161

Net
1st Place

Alistair Purves – 152

2nd Place

Curtis Heges – 153

3rd Place

Derek Fisher – 155