Richardson fires 66 to take a 2 shot lead in the opening day of the Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open
Peter Richardson, by his own reckoning, played solid golf to seize the early momentum in the Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open, the third and the penultimate event on the MENA Golf Tour, at Al Badia Golf Club on Monday.
The talented Englishman reeled off seven birdies, including four on the back nine, and a bogey in his impressive six-under-par 66 to take a two-shot lead over the Pakistan duo of Shahid Murtaza Ahmed and Aadil Jehangir, Dale Marminon of the United States and Cennydd Mills of England.
Four players were bunched together a further shot adrift on a 69 with the eclectic mix of contenders including Zane Scotland, the winner of the Abu Dhabi Golf Citizen Open, Anil Shah of Kenya, Nabil Abdul of Australia and Kenya’s Brian Njoroge
Among the notables, experienced Yasin Ali carded a two-under-par 70 while UAE’s leading amateur Ahmed Al Musharrekh settled for a level-par 72, two shots ahead of his compatriot Khalid Yousuf.
On a day when 26 players, including three amateurs, broke par, it was Richardson who made most of benign conditions, overcoming an early bogey to string together the best round on the Tour so far.
“I started with a birdie, but dropped a shot on the second which was a bit frustrating,” said Richardson, who finished tied third at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic last week.
“My round picked up steam especially on the back nine where I had four birdies. A 10-foot putt for a par on the 17th was pretty satisfying too. Overall, I had a pretty good day at work.”
His playing partner Al Musharrekh also created many scoring opportunities, but couldn’t convert them. “I know this course well and should have done better, but missed at least six to seven birdie chances. Hopefully, things would be fine in the next two rounds,” he said.
Former European Tour player Scotland, who fractured a bone in his right foot when his friends pushed him into a swimming pool on Friday, literally played on one leg to keep himself in contention. “I needed to take pain killers and change his swing to survive the day. Luckily we had carts and that helped,” said Scotland.
“Under the circumstances, I would have gladly taken a one or two over par score, but a three-under-par is certainly a bonus,” said Scotland who skipped the second Tour event to compete in the Euro Pro Tour Championship in Spain.
Experienced Yasin Ali who flirted with success in the first two Tour events was equally pleased with his day’s efforts. “I didn’t start well and felt completely out of sync on the front nine, but two birdied on the back nine steadied my round.
“The course is in superb conditions and I think everyone will enjoy playing on it,” said Yasin who finished second and tied seventh respectively in the first two events.
Morocco’s Serghini was left bemoaning putts that got away. “The course is playing well and I should have done much better, but I three putted the first (for a bogey) and the last (for a par). This is golf. A two under par is not a bad start and I look forward to building on it.”
His compatriot Mustapha El-Maouas and Brett Amstrong of Australia fired an identical one-par-71 to lead the field in the amateur category.
Leading first round scores (par-72)
66 – Peter Richardson (UK)
68 – Shahid Murtaza Ahmed (Pakistan), Aadil Jehangir (Pakistan), Dale Marmion (US), Cennydd Mills (UK)
69 – Anil Shah (Kenya), Zane Scotland (UK), Nabil Abdul (Australia), Brian Njoroge (Kenya)
70 – Chris Chamberlain (UK), Yasin Ali (UK), Gary Birch Jr (Germany), Faycal Serghini (Morocco), Ubi Michael Eteng (Nigeria), Greg Nicholson (UK), Lindsay Renolds (Canada)
71 – Jake Shepherd (UK), Mustapha El-Maouas (AM-Morocco), Simon Dunn (UK), Brett Armstrong (AM-Australia), Jonathan Porteous (UK), Nasser Yacoob (AM-Bahrain), Shafiq Masih (Pakistan), Matloob Ahmed (Pakistan), Odoh Andrew Oche (Nigeria), Willy Gift Elemenya (Nigeria)
72 – Ganeev Giddie (Kenya), Abdelhak Sabi (Morocco), Daniel Owen (AM-UK), Hamad Mubarak (Bahrain), Ross Canavan (UK), Ahmed Al Musharrekh (AM-UAE), Trevor Marshall (New Zealand).
