Ross McGowan currently leading the Mena Golf Tour order of merit
Making his vast experience count, Ross McGowan rode on a first and third-place finish to top the Order of Merit after the opening two events on the 2015 MENA Golf Tour schedule in the Moroccan cities of Rabat and Mohammedia. The 32-year-old Englishman overturned a record-equalling six-shot deficit on final day to win the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam Open by a good three shots and kept the momentum rolling with a solo third at the Royal D’Anfa Open, just three shots off the pace.
With $13,000 in earnings from the first two events, McGowan has comfortably moved atop the Order of Merit standings, ahead of Scotland’s Paul Doherty, who broke through for his maiden win on the MENA Golf Tour at Mohammedia.
For McGowan, the victory in Rabat win was his second on the tour following the 2012 Abu Dhabi GOLF CITIZEN which he won by a record six-shot margin and, in the process, matched the largest final day comeback on the MENA Golf Tour produced by compatriot Ross Canavan at the 2011 Ras Al Khaimah Classic.
One of the most experienced players in the field, having won the European Tour’s 2009 Madrid Masters which was highlighted by a third-round 12-under 60, McGowan will be the player to beat when the tour resumes after a summer break in September.
Scotland’s Doherty, playing in his second full season on the tour, soaked up the final day pressure in Mohammedia, producing a bogey-free 69 to carve out a well deserved win which coincided with golf in Morocco celebrating its 100th year since the construction of the first golf course in Tangier.
Adjudged the best professional in the region in 2014, Morocco’s Faycal Serghini wasted no time in seizing the early lead in the MENA Division for the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation Award, which recogonises the region’s top-3 professional and amateur performances, ahead of compatriots Ahmed Marjane and Amine Joudar.
The Order of Merit for amateurs wore a familiar look with defending champion James Allan of England finding his groove early into the season with a second (Rabat) and first place finish (Mohammedia) while Saudi Arabia’s rising star Khaled Attieh showed signs of his precocious talent, taking an early lead in the MENA Division, ahead of Morocco’s Karim El Hali.
“My biggest takeaway from these two tournaments is an increased confidence in my ability to play golf at any level. I am improving with every tournament and that makes me feel proud.
“Playing alongside some of the top professionals on the (MENA) tour was a great experience. I know I can play well at this level,” said Attieh, who plays off a plus two handicap.
In total 106 players, 22 of them amateurs, lined up for honours at Rabat, and 103, including 24 amateurs, were the starting line-up at Mohammed, representing a full field for each event.
MENA Golf Tour Order of Merit standings after the first two events in Morocco:
Professionals:
1. Ross Mcgowan (England) $13,000
2. Paul Doherty (Scotland) $10,020
3. Lee Corfield (England) $6,000
4. Stuart Archibald (England) $5,936
5. Jack Hiluta (England) $5,000
6. Per Barth (Sweden) $3,851
7. Faycal Serghini (Morocco) $3,561
8. Thriston Arthur Lawrence (South Africa) $3,067
9. Ahmed Marjane (Morocco) $2,936
10. Xavier Puig (Spain) $2,929
Amateurs:
1. James Allan (England) 71 points
2. Michael Harradine (Switzerland) 50
3. Alex Wills (England) 46
4. Khaled Attieh (Morocco) 44
5. Karim El Hali (Morocco) 38
