Pavan leads the way as entries close for National Bank of Oman Golf Classic
WITH the final entries of the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic now closed, awaiting the remaining qualifiers from the Foshan Open, the field for Oman’s first European Challenge Tour event – taking place at Almouj Golf The Wave, Muscat from October 24-27 – has become one of the most outstanding and competitive of the season.
Due to the support and initiatives of the National Bank of Oman, the tournament has drawn players from all around the Middle East to take on the ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ on the Challenge Tour.
More than 25 different countries are represented in the field as the Challenge Tour celebrates its 25th anniversary with players coming from Korea to Finland and from the USA to Portugal.
The first professional tournament to be played in Oman, and the first Challenge Tour event to be held in the GCC, will headed by Italy’s Andrea Pavan, a three-time winner on the Tour. The Roman leads a four-strong contingent of Italians that includes Marco Crespi, winner of the Mugello Tuscany Open in July, Andrea Rota and Nicola Ravano. “I’ve heard so much about the Greg Norman course at The Wave and about Oman, I can’t wait to tee off,” says Pavan. “It’s one of the season’s big events and I know the pressure will be on me to perform well.”
Hot on the heels of Pavan on the Challenge Tour Rankings is Holland’s Daan Huizing, a two-times winner on the Tour with two additional top five finishes this season. He is joined by fellow countrymen, Tim Sluiter and Wil Besseling. Just a few Euros behind Huizing on the Rankings is Spain’s Adrian Otaegui, one of the most consistent players of the Challenge Tour season, but still without a win.
Francois Calmels is a two-times winner this season and currently sits ninth in the Rankings, one place behind Victor Riu, among nine Frenchmen in the field.
The world-class line-up also includes: eight-times winner on the European Senior Tour Bill Longmuir, former Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson; Michael Jonzon, a two-times European Tour winner and two-times Challenge Tour winner; Welshman Stephen Dodd and England’s Nick Dougherty, with three European Tour titles to their credit; Argentina’s Daniel Vancsik, a two-times European Tour winner; Welshman Rhys Davies, Austria’s Markus Brier and Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl – all European Tour winners. England’s Garrick Porteous joins the stellar field as 2013 British Amateur Champion.
Below are details of the final entries with 12 additional players to make up the full field to 114 players, which includes 1 winner of the Foshan Open; 1 Challenge Tour invite; 5 cat. 95 players from the Challenge Tour Rankings not otherwise exempt; 5 cat. 98 from top 10 of Foshan Open:
