Sana Tufail overcame a record field in Abu Dhabi to win the second Faldo Series Middle East Championship
Local girl Sana victorius at the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club
The 17-year-old from England charged to victory with a superb bogey-free 64 on the final day.
“This is a great victory for me and I am really looking forward to The Greenbrier now,” said Tufail who will join Sir Nick Faldo at the 18th Faldo Series Grand Final in October. “I had a putting lesson with Keith Wood last night which made a big difference to my performance on the greens today.”
Tufail carded seven birdies in her final round to pip overnight leaders Zi Hao Su (Boys’ Under-21) and Pierre Verlaar (Boys’ Under-16) to the title; though the pair from China and the Netherlands respectively did secure their age categories to qualify for the season ending Grand Final. They will be joined at The Greenbrier for the World Amateur Golf Ranking event by Scotland’s Alison Muirhead (Girls’ Under 16) and Simon Moerk (Boys Under-18) of Denmark.
Backed by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the fifth Faldo Series Middle East Championship was the second in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Local school-children from the city of Al Ain attended the tournament for a free golf clinic and Sir Nick Faldo’s personal coach Keith Wood was on hand all week to work with the players.
Supported by The R&A, ISPS Handa, The European Tour and The Greenbrier the 2014 Faldo Series Europe schedule features 17 tournaments in 15 countries including three in England plus others in Abu Dhabi, Ireland, Chile, Wales, Brazil, Scotland, Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and the USA.
Established in 1996, 40 Faldo Series tournaments now take place in 30 countries worldwide with more than 7,000 golfers participating each year. Past winners include Major Champions Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng.
In September 2014, Faldo will begin taking students at a full-time residential academy for education and golf development in America. The first ever Faldo Series Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona marks another significant step in the programme’s history.
Leading final scores: Boys’ Under-21: 138 – Zi Hao Su (CHN) 67-71; 142 – Stefan Bogason (ICE) 71-71; 144 – Ross Hopwood (ENG) 68-76. Boys’ Under-18: 141 – Simon Moerk (DEN) 70-71; 147 – Jung Bin Kim (ROK) 70-77; 153 – James Sayer (ENG) 78-75. Boys’ Under-16: 137 – Pierre Verlaar (NED) 67-70; 138 – Mats Markovits (NED) 73-65. Girls’ Under-21: 136 – Sana Tufail (ENG) 72-64. Girls’ Under-16: 149 – Alison Muirhead (SCO) 73-76; 152 – Lajla Hrindova (SK) 77-75.
