Ras al Khaimah International Pairs UAE Qualifier
Al Hamra Golf Club in Ras al Khaimah hosted the sixth and seventh Qualifiers of the Tech Access International Pairs UAE Presented by Cadillac 2012-13 season on Friday when they invited the members of Tower Links Golf Club to play their event at Al Hamra.
The ‘shared’ tournament day was a first for International Pairs UAE and was well received by members of both clubs. With perfect weather conditions and a course to match, there was no shortage of contenders in each of the two tournaments.
In the ‘home’ event, Anthony Cashman and Ma Li Min emerged on the right side of a scorecard countback to claim victory. After a mediocre opening nine, the winning duo’s card burst into life as they notched up a staggering 24 points on the inward half. Although three net birdes to complete their round probably sealed the victory, the highlight was Ma Li’s birdie on the tricky par-3 11th. This followed her net birdie on the 10th and they never looked back. The unlucky pairing in the countback was Dewald Lubbe & Jake Maki-Petaja. With comfortably the lowest combined handicap in the field, this talented team had the perfect start with four net birdies and a net eagle in their first 10 holes but with victory theirs to lose, the remainder of the round stuttered and when both players 3-putted the short 15th, the writing was on the wall. A superb birdie to close out the day proved to be too little too late and the day belonged to Anthony & Ma Li.
Third place was taken by Shawqi Sajwani & Robert Craquelin who raced out of the blocks, opening with three net birdies but failed to sustain their form and finished with 37 stableford points.
Meanwhile, the Tower Links members apparently adapted well to the course at Al Hamra and some excellent scores were returned. Yet anoth countback was required, this time to separate the pairs in second and third place. Greg Maddox & Mark Regan had to settle for third despite racking up 26 points in the first 11 holes. Alas, four net bogeys down the stretch put paid to their chances of winning and ultimately of claiming the runners-up berth. Also with 39 points, this went to Roger Floyd & Yuki Pellerine. In contrast to most, Roger & Yuki’s day was a picture of consistency with nines of 20 and 19 points. Gross birdies from Roger on two of his stroke holes certainly helped their cause however!
Victory and the honour of representing Tower Links in the Tech Access International Pairs UAE Presented by Cadillac 2012-13 National Final however, went to veteran duo Jeff Glasgow & Alistair Purves. With two holes left and sitting 7 points behind clubhouse leaders Maddox & Regan, Glasgow & Purves pulled off the impossible as first Glasgow birdied the 17th for 4 points and then Purves made a net eagle on the last to snatch victory by a solitary point. With nerves like this under pressure, this pairing might be one to watch in June’s finale.
There were four Nearest-the-Pin prizes on offer and these were won by Alistair Purves, Roger Floyd and 2010-11 Al Hamra International Pairs UAE champions, Phil & Karen Mallinson.
There were separate draws held for members from each club and the superb prize of a night at Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi, Official Hotel partner of Tech Access International Pairs UAE Presented by Cadillac, was won by Shawqi Sajwani (Al Hamra) and Alistair Purves (Tower Links). In addition, Steve Rayment, Dewald Lubbe and Mark Regan all won a pair of Crocs golf shoes by Hank Haney!
Tech Access International Pairs UAE Presented by Cadillac is also supported by Rivoli Group, Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi, Mediclinic Middle East, Nike Golf, Crocs Golf, Sport 360, Worldwide Golf and UAE Golf Online. The winners from Al Hamra Golf Club and Tower Links Golf Club join the winners at Arabian Ranches Golf Club, Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, Yas Links, Emirates Golf Club and The Address Montgomerie Dubai in the UAE National Final, to be played at Yas Links in June. The next Tech Access International Pairs UAE Presented by Cadillac Qualifier will be played at Al Ghazal Golf Club on Friday 25th January.
