Zane Scotland made a blistering start to the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club Open
Zane Scotland made a blistering start to the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club Open, the opening event on the MENA Golf Tour, firing a flawless six-under-par 65 on Monday.
Playing his very first round ever at the 6,967-yard, par-71 Dubai Creek course, the former European Tour player effectively strung his bogey-free round to seize the early initiative, one shot ahead of Fredrik Quicker of Sweden and Wales’ Cennydd Mills.
Among the notables, Stephen Dodd, a three-time winner on the European Tour, settled for one-under-par 71 while UAE’s just-turned pro Ahmed Al Musharrekh needed to endure a frustrating first day at the office, eventually finishing with a head-scratching 10 over par 81.
The day belonged to Scotland. The winner of the Abu Dhabi Golf Citizen Open last year, the 29-year-old Englishman made most of the early begin conditions, making the turn at one under before exploding on the back nine which he lit up with five birdies, including three in a row from the 16th.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start. Everything fell in place,” said Scotland, once hailed as the new Tiger Woods when he won a nationwide competition titled Search For A Tiger, aged 14, before a car accident in 2003 and then a serious wrist injury in 2007 undermined his career.
“If I can keep the momentum going, I think I can expect a good result,” said Scotland, who birdied the eighth, 10th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th.
“The course is in great shape and the greens are rolling nice,” said Scotland, who was in the first three-ball that teed off at 6.50am.
UAE’s Al Musharrekh felt his nerves just went off the red line and he basically succumbed to the pressure. “It was crazy out there, a tougher day than I thought. Nothing worked for me,” he said, adding: “Tomorrow is another day. Let’s see how things shape up.”
European Tour veteran Dodd, however, was pretty satisfied with his day’s work. “It was a bit tricky since winds picked up later in the day. I missed a couple of scoring opportunities despite hitting some solid putts. That’s golf,” he said.
Meanwhile, England’s Max Williams led the field in the amateur division, shooting two-under-par 69. Ahmed Marjan, the winner of the Order of Merit for Amateurs last year, signed off with a three-over-par 74.
Leading scores after Round One:
65 – Zane Scotland (England)
66 – Fredrik Quicker (Sweden) and Cennydd Mills (Wales)
67 – Dan Waite (England)
68 – Ross Canavan (England), Alex Christie (England),
Craig Smith (Wales)
69 – Yasin Ali (England), Andreas Finn (Sweden), Max Williams – Amateur (England), James Housby (England), Ian Keenan (England)
70 – Callum Nicoll (Scotland), Stephen Dodd (Wales), Gavin Dear (Scotland), Ali Saleh – Amateur (Bahrain), Bernard Neumayer – Amateur (Austria), Mohammed Munir (Pakistan), Daniel Owen (England), Duncan Stewart (Scotland)
Notables:
71 – Peter Richardson (England)
76 – Jake Shepherd (England)
81 – Ahmed Al Musharrekh (UAE)
Zane Scotland with Adel Zarouni, vice chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation, and Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour
