The 33-year-old French golfer arrived at the Qatar Masters — the final regular season event counting toward the Race to Dubai — outside the bubble, with the top 116 golfers on the list after this week not only qualifying for the post-season, but getting to keep their tour cards. You can see where we’re going here, but you’ll never believe exactly how Levy’s close call played out.

Needing a late rally in his second round to make the cut to have any chance of keeping his card, Levy birdied the par 4 16th. Then the craziness started. He lipped out for a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th. And then he lipped out this birdie putt on the par-5 18th to officially end his chances.

Ranked 125th on the Race to Dubai Rankings, @alexlevygolf needed to make the cut to give himself a chance of retaining his Tour card.

He lipped out for an ace at the 17th before lipping out again at the 18th to miss the cut.

Golf is hard.#CBQMasters pic.twitter.com/UXuHlc1x8n

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 28, 2023

That’s tough to watch. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be video of the lipped out hole-in-one. Or, maybe that should be fortunately, because that would be even tougher to watch. The golf gods were particularly cruel on this day.

But despite all of that — Levy wound up missing the cut by two strokes at one-under — it’s hard to imagine anyone handling the crushing situation any better. Check out this classy post-round interview:

"I will go to Q School, for sure. I will give everything I have!"

Five-time winner on Tour, @alexlevygolf has the mentality to fight for his card ?#CBQMasters pic.twitter.com/vqy1zTbFts

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 28, 2023

Anyone with the nickname “El Toro” must be pretty tough. And Levy added that he’ll give it his all to earn his card back at Q-School in a couple weeks.

Go get ’em, Alex.

The post Watch as Alexander Levy loses DP World Tour card in crushing fashion after lipping out twice appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray

Tyrrell’s a treat
Given his giddy run of form over the past 16 months – victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship triumph was his fourth in 20 starts – has Tyrrell Hatton surpassed Tommy Fleetwood as Europe’s chief major champion in waiting? Perhaps. The Englishman unquestionably crept above Rory McIlroy to fifth in the OWGR. The only European above him? Jon Rahm, also the owner of four Rolex Series gold stars. You’ve got to love the ball-striking, the icy-calmness closing out events and the honest self-assessments, both during rounds and afterwards.

“Definitely pinching myself. It’s just very surreal to be that high in the world rankings. I don’t look at myself or — I don’t know how to sort of word it. I guess I’m very — yeah, I’m struggling to find the words how to put it across but I’ll just say it is very cool to be where I am at the moment.”

“Hi, I’m Tyrrell…and I’m an angry golfer”
“If you’re feeling glum, pop up a thumb”. The European Tour’s social media team always seem on point but how about the timing of having eventual champion Tyrrell Hatton front their latest ditty, #AngryGolfers? “I’m not quite sure why they chose me,” Hatton drolly told on-course commentator Tim Barter a round after previewing the soon-to-be-released viral video with a double thumbs up to mock a rare wayward drive on the National layout. Classic stuff and a fun new go-to to help us all defuse potential on course meltdowns.

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What’s the story, Rory?
Rory McIlroy, welcomed back to the UAE capital for the first time since 2018, complied one of those uniquely Rory rounds on Thursday in Abu Dhabi that makes golf look easy. But almost inevitably after the 64 – “a lovely way to start the year” – and two further mostly stress-free rounds to snare the 54-hole lead, the Northern Irishman found a way to let the title slip. Again. A fourth third placing to go with four bridesmaid finishes means the Falcon remains almost as elusive as a certain green jacket for Rors. Here’s hoping he’ll be back next January.

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What next for Abu Dhabi?
Speaking of the 17th Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, anyone else excited to see what the Desert Swing opener will be like co-sanctioned by the mighty PGA Tour? Yup, us too. Nothing’s official yet but it seems Abu Dhabi, the Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship and DP World Tour Championship at JGE will get the full U.S. treatment in 2022. McIlroy might find it even tougher to snare the fabled Falcon.

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2021 Lev-ity
How good was Alexander Levy’s reaction to his ace (a 9 iron from 177 yards) on the 15th in the third round in Abu Dhabi? It was peak 2020 (rolling into 2021) as the Frenchman looked around for affirmation from the galleries to be greeted by near silence. Damn you COVID. As Levy rolls on into 2021 behind the wheel of a new BMW X850i, here’s hoping there will be even fewer gallery restrictions next year.

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Casey can
If Abu Dhabi champion Tyrrell Hatton is Europe’s new chief major champion in waiting, then countryman Paul Casey is firmly back in the conversation as the best player without a big, with all due respect to Lee Westwood. Casey’s effortless power and a smiling jaunt to the Dallah Trophy ensured the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic has another worthy name on its stellar roll call of champions and leaves us to wonder how he hasn’t landed a major. Yet.

“I think a lot of good stuff [is still to come], honestly I feel like I’ve regained my youth. I mean that sincerely and, yeah, I’m so happy.”

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Majlis makeover
You had to feel for the hard-working team at Emirates Golf Club as patchy pictures of the Majlis’ normally pristine greens were beamed around the globe during the Desert Classic. The great news is it won’t be long until those images are a distant memory with the course to close May 2 for a complete rebuild of the putting surfaces to USGA specifications. The greens had come to the end of their lifespan – roughly 20-25 years in the harsh desert environment – but will be rolling smoothly once more when the course is reopened in late September.

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No.1 for a very good reason
How good is Dustin Johnson, even when he’s not at his best. The most impressive aspect of the world No.1’s second Saudi International win in three years was his unflappable response to a catalogue of miss reads on the tricky Royal Greens putting surfaces. The only time the reigning Masters champion did get angry – if you could call a light slap on his own thigh after bogeying the 16th in the final round “angry” – Johnson responded by very nearly driving the next. A par 4. Job done.

“I’ve been playing some really good golf the last six months. Hopefully, I’m going to continue to play this kind of golf. I’m seeing a lot of the same things each and every week, and that’s what I do… I’ve got a great team around me that helps me kind of stay in that form so that I can perform at the highest level each and every week.”

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The dirty D word
With distance almost a dirty word in golf nowadays, Bryson DeChambeau finds himself the game’s new anti-hero, with all due respect to Patrick Reed. Thankfully, Saudi was another reminder that ridiculous length off the tee doesn’t guaranteed fairways in reg, much less trophies (Dustin Johnson’s victory notwithstanding). In the clamber to dial back the ball, we should remember that and the fact the next-gen love seeing athletes hit bombs. Are we trying to lure newcomers to the sport or tell them that improved athleticism isn’t really wanted? Remember too that Kevin Na contended. As DeChambeau (T-18) said himself, a distance advantage will always be a distance advantage no matter how long the course is or how far the ball flies. But that doesn’t mean the big boofers will always win. This is golf after all. The only guarantee is that you’ll never beat this maddeningly brilliant game.

The course Jack is building
The Kingdom might be home to the youngest of the Desert Swing events but boy, aren’t Golf Saudi in a hurry to make up for lost time. Even before one of this year’s strongest fields (it was only early Feb.) teed it up at Royal Greens, the governing body announced Jack Nicklaus has put his name to a new private course in the Qiddiya megaproject 40 minutes south-west of the capital Riyadh. And that Saudi Aramco was backing a four-event, $4 million series of Ladies European Tour events in New York, London, Singapore and KAEC. Talk about Kingdom come. It’s going to be fascinating to see what the golf landscape looks like in a decade’s time.

Enough already COVID
Just when we all thought the horrors of 2020 were behind us… Here’s hoping the cancelled Oman Open can be rescheduled for later in the year because Greg Norman’s Al Mouj Golf design in Muscat is one of the courses that give Middle East golf tourism a great name.

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Qatar Quality?
Anyone else surprised a year has passed since the European Tour put its 2020 season on ice following Jorge Campillo’s victory at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters? Yeah, it feels much longer than that to us too. With the coronavirus-enforced demise of the Oman Open a timely reminder to take nothing for granted, the return to Education City is our last chance to enjoy some top-level desert golf before the long haul to the Race to Dubai decider at JGE in late November. The quality of the field in Doha, now that a potential two-tourney Middle East detour has become a one event hit and run mission, will be telling. Whatever happens, at least it looks like we’ll all play on after Qatar. What a year – and a Desert Swing – it has been.

The post That’s (almost) a wrap! A dozen reasons why the 2021 Desert Swing was (and still is) a doozy appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Alexander Levy has been withdrawn from this week’s European Tour’s event out of precaution.

In a statement, the European Tour said Levy, a five-time winner on the Old World circuit, had come in contact with a friend who had recently tested positive for COVID-19. The meeting occurred while Levy was at home in France last week. Though Levy has no symptoms and tested negative for the virus at this week’s tournament site at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, the tour decided having Levy in the field was too much of a risk.

“I told the European Tour immediately after finding out that my friend tested positive. I informed them of my movements since arriving on site as I wanted to ensure the safety of my fellow professionals and their caddies,” Levy said.

Levy now must self-isolate for 14 days in accordance with local health authority guidance.

He will be replaced in the field by Martin Simonsen.

The post European Tour player forced to withdraw from event as COVID-19 precaution appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
You could argue there is no golfer on the European Tour playing with more pressure this season than Alexander Levy. At No. 66 entering this week’s Trophee Hassan II in Morocco, the 27-year-old is the top-ranked Frenchman in the world. And with the Ryder Cup being held outside Paris this September, the hope that he can represent the country on the European team as it hosts the biennial event for the first time means Levy has plenty riding on his play the next few months.

Given all this, Levy’s two-under 70 in the final round at Golf Dar Es Salaam, good enough for eight-under 280 total and a one-stroke victory over Alvaro Quiros, is as meaningful a victory as any to date this season.

“This feels so good,” Levy said after the round. “I’m a little bit tired now because it was really tough today, but I did a really good job today. For me, I played an amazing game. I’m so happy to win this trophy.”

Levy started the day and made his first birdie on the third hole, a five-footer that grabbed him a share of the lead. Another birdie on the par-5 fifth, put him out front alone. As Quiros and others chased him, Levy made a series of clutch par saves to remain out front.

The shot of the day for Levy came on the par-3 17th, when he hit his tee ball on a hole that had given up only five birdies at the time to four feet, and converted the putt to give him a two-stroke edge. Quiros, who birdied 17 as well, needed an eagle on the par-5 18th to force a playoff but could only manage a birdie.

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

It was Levy’s fifth career European Tour win (he trails only Thomas Levet’s 6 for most wins by a French player in tour history) and builds off the momentum that he has generated so far in 2018, with three top-10 finishes in five previous starts. However, Levy is not quite ready to feel comfortable about a Ryder Cup spot.

“Like what I said from the start of the season, I need to improve my game,” Levy said. “I need to work a lot. I worked a lot the last two days, two weeks, and I won this trophy.”

The best of Alex Levy's winning round in under 3️⃣ minutes.#TropheeHassanII pic.twitter.com/4P9PpFqmKA

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 22, 2018

The victory, however, comes at an ideal time as Levy heads to Asia for this week’s Volvo China Open, where he is a two-time winner and the defending champion.

“It’s a good win, but I need to go back to work because we can see we have a lot of good players in Europe,” Levy said. “So it will be tough to make it.”

And yet Levy is slowly finding himself in position to be a legitimate choice for the squad. And it can hurt to see this kind of tweet from European Tour Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn.

Congratulations @alexlevygolf
Brilliant performance on a tough golf course.
Well done my friend

— Thomas Bjørn (@thomasbjorngolf) April 22, 2018

The post Will a Frenchman compete in the Ryder Cup outside Paris? The chances got a little better on Sunday appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
With Frenchman Alexander Levy the highest ranked player in the field at No. 62 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), the new NBO Oman Open offers fading stars and lesser lights the chance to shine.

Paul Waring and Matthew Southgate duly obliged Thursday, the Englishmen grabbing a share of the lead in the $1.75 million European Tour event with seven under 65s.

Both went bogey free around the majestic Al Mouj Golf layout but Southgate’s card was illuminated by an ace on island green 5th. The seven iron dunk from 165 yards was the 29-year-old’s second hole-in-one inside a month after he binned a nine iron on the par-3 7th at Emirates Golf Club during last month’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic; it was also the second ace on the historic day in Muscat after German Marcel Siem holed out from 162 yards on the 13th moments earlier. In a bizarre coincidence, the caddies of both players are twin brothers – Gary and Guy Tilson. 

Southgate and Waring lead by a shot from Dutchman Daan Huizing who hit the first shot of the championship and just 65 further strokes to cash in on a special invite having played four of the five Challenge Tour events previously held at Al Mouj, including a T-10 at last November’s NBO Golf Classic Grand Final.

Ryder Cupper Andy Sullivan and fellow Englishman Callum Shinkwin were a shot further back after 67s while Matteo Manassero’s name was a welcome sight among a group of six players on 68.

Waring, the world No. 251, will be relived with his fast start after a challenging beginning to 2018 which has seen the 33-year-old miss three successive cuts en-route to Muscat after opening the wrap-around season with a T-41 effort in Hong Kong before Christmas.

Paul Waring

The 2005 English amateur champion played last season on a medical exemption after wrist and shoulder problems but also enjoyed a career-best campaign, finishing 60th on the Race to Dubai rankings and saw light despite the unwanted weekends off.

“I’d missed three cuts on the spin but I didn’t feel like I’d played badly to miss them. I didn’t feel too far away,” Waring told EuropeanTour.com after a round that included a hat-trick of birdies from the 14th (he started at 10) and birdies on all four par 5s.

“It was definitely a bit of a glide. I played some of the best golf I’ve played for a little while. I actually missed a few chances, which sounds ridiculous. I did hole a nice one on one from 30 or 40 feet which is nice to keep the momentum going. I’m really happy with that.”

Southgate’s early form hasn’t been much better than Waring’s. Ranked 163rd in the latest OWGR, he missed the cut at the SA Open and in Abu Dhabi before T-57 and T-62 finishes in Dubai and Kuala Lumpur.   

It was a good day for this guy ?

Shoots 65
Makes a hole-in-one
Takes the first round lead pic.twitter.com/rIK3woah9R

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 15, 2018

The Southend-on-Sea professional provided one of the stories of 2015, coming through all three stages of Q-School to regain his card after surgery for testicular cancer just months earlier. More recently Southgate has been in the news for cruelly incurring a four stroke penalty at the DAP Championship during last September’s Web.com finals, a freak incident that ultimately cost him a PGA Tour card.

Putting on the 15th at Canterbury Golf Club in Ohio, his ball was struck by a leaf that blew across the green, nudging the ball off line ever so slightly.

Southgate finished the hole, but made a huge error in the process as he should have placed his ball back to its original location and replayed the shot without penalty. Instead, by continuing the hole, he was handed a four-stroke penalty – two for playing from the wrong spot and two more for signing an incorrect card.

Here’s the incident:

Golf is hard … especially when you’re playing for a @PGATOUR card. pic.twitter.com/SoyWo6X01q

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) September 24, 2017

Sullivan, T-6 in Dubai and T-17 in Malaysia, is trending nicely as he looks to September’s Ryder Cup in Paris. The 31-year-old concedes complacency crept in after he slipped to 62nd place in last year’s Race to Dubai standings following back-to-back top 20 finishes in 2015 and 2016.

He achieved just two top-10s in 2017 but is determined to get back to the top after the high of qualifying for the 2016 Ryder Cup in Hazeltine.

“I think it was just a bit of complacency,” he told EuropeanTour.com. “I got to the Ryder Cup pretty early and achieved everything in really quick time and you just don’t realise how hard you have to work to maintain these things. I’d be guilty of that and of not quite performing how I wanted to.

“Since DP World we’ve put the hard work in and it’s nice to see it coming back to where it was so early. I didn’t expect it to happen quite so quickly.

“Once you’ve played one Ryder Cup you don’t want to miss another one, it’s so special. My first one was in America and obviously we got humped but the whole experience is so awesome, being a part of that team, you just don’t want to miss another one.

“One of my goals is to try and force my way into that team. I know it’s going to be difficult and I’ve left myself a lot to do but that’s where I want to be again.”

Levy, for the record, signed for a one-under 71 Thursday, as did Andrew “Beef” Johnston.  Shubhankar Sharma, the 21-year-old Indian who leads the 2018 Race to Dubai after wins at the Joburg Open and Maybank Championship in the past two months, finished with a 73 despite a near tap-in eagle on the par-5 12th.

It was a tough day for the local hopes. Al Mouj teaching professional Steven Troup (SCO) is tied for 128th overnight after a 77 while Oman national team amateur Azaan Al Rumhy carded an 80. Bahrain amateur Nasser Yaqoob was on +13 after an 85.

The post Southgate, with an ace, and Waring lead in Muscat after 65s appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 21-year-old Indian is the surprise early leader of the season-long Race to Dubai after winning the Joburg Open and Maybank Championship in the past two months to scoot up to No.71 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Sharma will peg it up with 2016 Ryder Cupper Andy Sullivan and Frenchman Alexander Levy at 7.15am in the marquee morning three-ball as Al Mouj Golf graduates to full European Tour status after a five year Challenge Tour apprenticeship. He’s clearly expecting a challenging week.

“I’m surprised this is the first time Al Mouj Golf has hosted a European Tour event as it’s such a great course,” he said. “It’s a tough, long course that can get windy; I definitely think that it’s a championship course. Now they have the event here I’m sure it will continue for many years to come.

“It would mean a lot to win an event in the Middle East especially at such a great course as Al Mouj Golf. I’m playing well at the moment so hopefully I can have four good rounds and we will see what happens. Every win is special to me so hopefully I can keep going and pushing my career on.”

Levy, whose ace during last month’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic earned the European Tour shot of the month award, has his eyes on a 2018 Ryder Cup spot and will tee off the 10th, 10 minutes before European captain Thomas Bjorn who is grouped with Soren Kjeldsen and Thomas Detry.

January’s Shot of the Month ?️???

Fans voted this @AlexLevyGolf shot as the European Tour’s best shot in January. pic.twitter.com/iAT9XutwdD

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 13, 2018

Fan favourite Andrew “Beef” Johnston will look to rebound from an unwanted weekend off at last week’s World Super 6 Perth when he heads off at 11.55am with former Ryder Cupper Robert Karlsson and Joost Luiten.

Thai Thongchai Jaidee, Welshman Jamie Donaldson and England’s David Horsey are off 10 minutes earlier, also from the 1st tee, while the threesome of Darren Clarke, Brett Rumford and Stephen Gallacher are sure to lure their share of the first day galleries at 12.05pm.

There will be great local interest in the performance of Omani amateur Azaan Al Rumhy (8.15am, 10th tee) and Bahrain’s Nasser Yaqoob (1.15pm, 10th tee) who qualified via the Oman amateur qualifier.

With just Sharma and Jorge Campillo in the current Race to Dubai top-10 and Levy, at No.62, the highest placed entry in the OWGR, the new Desert Swing event is wide open.

One of the stars could be Al Mouj Golf itself. The Greg Norman design, ranked third in our latest Top 10 Courses of the Middle East ranking, is in sparkling condition and set to be showcased to a global audience in excess of 400 million.

Related: Our 2018 Top 10 Courses in the Middle East ranking

Coverage of OSN Sports runs from 10.30am to 12.30pm on Thursday and resumes at 2pm-5pm.

The @NBOGolf course is ??#NBOOmanOpen pic.twitter.com/x6XcCKPj7n

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 13, 2018

The post Surprise Race to Dubai leader Sharma off early as Al Mouj makes its European Tour bow appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“It felt nice but I look around and no prize! So I was a little bit upset,” said the Frenchman of his sweet nine iron.

The 27-year-old was only joking of course and might still land the biggest prize of them all. A 65 that could have and probably should have been better left Levy just three strokes adrift of China’s Haotong Li heading into Sunday and in with an excellent shot of a fifth European Tour title.

“I promise you, the last few days I play some good golf. I just enjoy and try to hit the perfect shots. I got a good stretch going from nine to 14 [five successive birdies]. And from there, I start to think, I’m leading the tournament, so I put a little bit more pressure on my shoulder, and I miss three short putts in a row.”

Dropped shots at 15 and 16 indeed stalled Levy’s progress. “I just start to think about what can happen and I don’t enjoy the moment. A lot of crowd there. It was tough because it was noisy and so I lost a little bit of concentration. It was not easy, but I will learn on that.

A bounce back birdie on 18, conjured up with “one perfect drive” and “one perfect 3-iron”, sent the Ryder Cup hopeful to bed happy after the dream on the tricky par-3 fourth.

Hole-in-One! ?@alexlevygolf at the fourth hole ? pic.twitter.com/KZb7IcQhA3

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 27, 2018

“That was a perfect yardage, little 9-iron. I hit a perfect shot straight to the flag and I don’t know, I get lucky to make it because it’s a lot of downhill, left-to-right, and I just watched the shot and yeah, perfect pace, perfect shot. But it’s little bit lucky.”

“It will be a little bit more windy tomorrow I think. I’m looking forward to the challenge. The pressure will be nice. We practise for this moment, and tomorrow I’ll just try my best to get the best score.”

A repeat of Saturday’s 65 could well be good enough to get his hands on the Dallah trophy.

The post Levy plays his ace appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Dubai-domiciled Spaniard sits at -14, after a brace of 69s were backed up by a superb bogey-free 64 in the third round, leaving him six adrift of Chinese wunderkind Haotong Li.

The 2012 Desert Classic champion may have shot the lights out on moving day but acknowledges there is still plenty to do to catch the front-runners.

“Eight under today was very good, and I missed a few close chances so I want to make them count,” said Cabrera Bello. “I need to go low tomorrow, do the same again to have a chance of lifting the trophy again.”

The three-time European tour winner has an affinity with the Majlis. He is eighth in the scoring average at the Desert Classic since 2007 with an impressive average score of 69.8 for 28 loops of the Middle East’s top-rated track.

“I love this tournament and the Majlis course, always play well here, lots of friends here in Dubai following me which is very nice.”

The reigning Scottish Open champion has already notched up a second place finish this season at the Hong Kong Open to follow up his six top-10s last season. But with the likes of France’s Alexander Levy, South Africa’s Haydn Porteous, and returning juggernaut Rory McIlroy currently between him and leader Li, Cabrera Bello has his work cut out.

One thing that should reassure the 33-year-old is his ability to finish a round. The final hole at The Majlis has been at his mercy this week, and if it should come down to finishing strong to seal a second Dallah, the evidence thus far presented only works in his favour.

“Played great today and eagled 18 again today – so played 18 this week eagle, birdie, eagle. It’s going to be an exciting final day tomorrow.”

The post Rafa’s late late show appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
He began three behind, quickly surged two clear and eventually finished a stroke adrift.  At the end of it all – and there was a lot to take in elsewhere – Rory McIlroy was right back to where he started as the player to beat in this utterly absorbing Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

After a sizzling 64 to get to -20, Haotong Li will start Sunday entirely capable of closing out the €3 million European Tour event. You only have to rewind to last summer’s Open Championship and the 63 that propelled him to solo third at Royal Birkdale for proof of the Chinese star’s closing qualities, or the 64 that landed the Volvo China Open in 2016.

But Li’s one stroke cushion over McIlroy is far from a comfy one even if the Northern Irishman couldn’t quite keep up his early heroics on a breathless moving day that had spilled over from Friday’s fog delay.

Five birdies in his seven second round makeup holes early Saturday saw McIlroy sign for a 64 and overtake Jamie Donaldson atop the leaderboard. There weren’t the same fireworks in a third round 68 although a homeward nine negotiated in 32 strokes, sparked by an eagle at 10 and closed out with two birdies in his final three holes, ensures the world No.11 takes ample momentum into the final round.

“Hopefully that’s the bad one out of the way,” McIlroy said afterwards.

“I didn’t get off to too bad a start, just a couple of loose ones. Missed a short one on 4 and made bogey on 8. That wasn’t too good. But to come back with a five-under back nine was good. It was good to knock that birdie in at the last and stay within one of Li.

“I’ll probably need to play a bit better tomorrow to win, but you know, it’s two weeks into the season and I’ve given myself a second chance to win a tournament. Looking forward to tomorrow.”

Rory scrambles from a bunker.

The post A Love Li jubbly Sunday shootout with Rory poised appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Not long after Pat Perez had waltzed around the Majlis’ back nine in a scarcely believable 29 strokes to haul himself back into the €3 million European Tour event, Frenchman Alexander Levy went and did this:

Hole-in-One! ?@alexlevygolf at the fourth hole ? pic.twitter.com/KZb7IcQhA3

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 27, 2018

It was the second ace in as many days on the Majlis after Englishman Matthew Southgate binned his tee shot on the par-3 7th.

Related: Southgate’s perfect timing

Did we also mention Rory McIlroy’s five birdies in seven holes to set the halfway lead at -15?

Perez started the third round at -6 but got it to -14 with eagles on the 13th and 18th in a outward nine also sprinkled with four further birdies. It was breathless stuff that had the Desert Classic on 59 watch for the second time in three days after Jamie Donaldson’s opening gambit which eventually ended with a 62.

8 under par through 9 holes! Wow.

Pat Perez is on fire out there ??? pic.twitter.com/kuQcGEOLyS

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 27, 2018

A bogey at the first, Perez’s 10th, and a par at the short par-4 second slowed the PGA Tour drawcard’s momentum but Ernie Els’ 1994 Majlis course record 61, -11 under,  is still under threat.

Indeed, strap yourselves in sports fans. Moving day is off to a cracking start, especially with Rory only easing into his third round. The way things have started Saturday, anything could happen.

The post Watch Alex Levy ace the 171 yard par-3 4th at Emirates Golf Club appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.