The Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open the third and the penultimate event on the MENA Golf Tour
The Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open, the third and the penultimate event on the MENA Golf Tour, will provide one last chance to competitors to consolidate their positions on the Order of Merit if they aim to make the “cut” for the Tour Championship next week.
The top 40 professionals and the leading 15 amateurs from their respective Order of Merits will be eligible to play in the season-ending Championship, which boasts a prize fund of $75,000 (Dh275,482), at Al Ain Shooting, Golf and Equestrian Club.
England’s Ross Canavan, who won the Ras Al Khaimah Classic last week, leads the Order of Merit for professionals, but will have his work cut out with the return of Zane Scotland, the winner of the first MENA Golf Tour event (the Abu Dhabi Golf Citizen Open), after a one-week break. But he remains unruffled.
“My game is in good shape and so is my confidence. If I can hole putts and keep the momentum rolling all the way through, I can expect another good week,” said 24-year-old who wiped off a massive six-shot deficit to wrap up his first win since turning professional at the Tower Links Golf Club.
One of the major highlights of the $50,000 Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open that gets under way at Al Badia Golf Club on Monday (Oct 10) is the presence of leading UAE amateurs – Ahmed Al Musharrekh and Khalid Yousuf – in a strong field, comprising 80 players, including 15 amateurs.
Fresh from his best-ever 24th place finish in the Asian Amateur Championship in Singapore, Ahmed sounded confident of going the full distance. “I am here to win. Simple as that. I am striking the ball well and have every reason to feel good about my game,” said Ahmed who, like Yousuf, couldn’t compete in the first two Tour events because of his engagements with the UAE National team.
“I have heard a lot of good things about the tour, so I’m looking forward to playing at Al Badia Club, which is a superb course,” said Ahmed incidentally holds the amateur record of a 67 he shot on this course during a UAE National Monthly Medal event last year.
The return of Scotland, once hailed as a new Tiger Woods, will further intensify competition on the 6,989-yard layout. He was just 14 when he won a nationwide competition entitled ‘Search For A Tiger,’ but a whiplash injury he sustained during a car crash and then a wrist injury prevented from reaching his full potential.
Delighted with his victory in Abu Dhabi which has put his career back on track, Scotland is recommending fellow professionals to take the MENA Golf Tour to establish their credentials. The case in point is Jake Shepherd, who flirted with success in the Ras Al Khaimah Classic before squandering a healthy five-shot in the final round to finish in a tie for third.
Experienced Ross Bain and Yasin Ali know what it takes to compete at international and they will remain a potent threat to the field. Placed among the top six in the Order of Merit, the English duo will be aiming to get the job done this time around like Faical Serghini and Younes El Hassani of Morocco.
Morocco, which has 11 players in the field, has given a good account of themselves in the first two events on the Tour with El Hassani finishing third in Abu Dhabi and Serghini second in Ras Al Khaimah. With Ahmed Marjan leading the field in the amateur category, things are going pretty well for the Moroccans.
It will be interesting to see how Bahrain top golfers Hamad Mubarak and Nasser Yacoob (amateur), who are making their first appearance on the MENA Golf Tour, fare in their respective categories. Whatever the outcome, they like any player in the field, will return home richer in experience. After all, the very intention behind the MENA Golf Tour is to create playing opportunities for golfers to graduate to next level.
