By Kent Gray
Alison Muirhead emerged from her own wild game of snakes and ladders on The Faldo to be among the early contenders at the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic. Olivia Jackson’s scorecard, meanwhile, was more turvy than topsy but she didn’t finish too far adrift of Muirhead on the unofficial happiness leaderboard.

Together the Dubai-domiciled pros, South African-born Scot Muirhead in just the seventh start of a stop-start rookie season on the LET, and new Emirates Golf Club intern pro Jackson in her bigtime debut, produced a hometown narrative of note on Wednesday.

Muirhead overcame a watery triple-bogey to sign for a 69 to sit four adrift of Swedish pole-sitter Caroline Hedwall’s seven-under lead. Englishwoman Jackson, offered an 11th hour spot in the 56–strong pro draw after three positive COVID-19 tests reshaped the field, battled bravely after four successive bogeys to start her round to finish with no further damage in a four-over 76.

Starting the morning shotgun on the 16th, Muirhead overcame an opening bogey with a great birdie on the 18th before three successive gains from the 2nd to get to -3. She then fell off the front page of the leaderboard with a bogey on the 5th and a triple bogey seven after reportedly finding water twice on the 7th. Muirhead mounted an immediate recovery with birdie on the par-3 8th, added another on 12 and then drove the green and holed an eight-footer for eagle on the 278-yard 13th to get back to -3.

“Yeah, I am pretty pleased with the 69 considering I had a triple bogey as well,” Muirhead said. “I am happy with how I brought it back and gave myself loads of chances on the course… just a sloppy decision on the 7th hole cost me a couple of shots.”

Muirhead reportedly lives near the 11th fairway on the Majlis, the Faldo’s sister course at Emirates Golf Club, and is determined to make the most of her local knowledge this week. She’s banked just €1,890 in her six previous LET starts, highlighted by a best finish of T-57 at the SA Women’s Open in March. Wednesday’s 69 bettered her best round on tour by two strokes.

“Growing up in Dubai definitely has been an advantage this week but you are playing against the best players in the world, which makes it an even playing field, particularly as anything can happen on this course. There are some tough holes and tough pin positions. I feel like it will equal itself out over the three days but I do have a little bit of an advantage having grown up here.

“Obviously tomorrow is another day and that will be under the floodlights this time. I have prepared for the different format so I am pretty confident but at the same time anything can happen and I am just looking forward to playing tomorrow.”

Emirates Golf Club intern pro Olivia Jackson.

Jackson, meantime, finds herself in the midst of a giddy golfing whirlwind. After creating history by becoming the first female winner of a UAE PGA Tour event recently, on The Faldo no less, Jackson was invited to play for the Am prizes in the Motivate Media Group II team to be captained by LET winner Meghan MacLaren. But she quickly found herself promoted to captain of the EGA 1 team when European Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew was among the three  to test positive for COVID-19 on the eve of the $285,000 event.

Jackson was teaching kids on the range Tuesday when she took a call from the Emirates G.C. Golf Academy to say Dubai Golf CEO Chris May wanted to talk.

“My phone was in my pocket and it kept ringing and ringing. I could see it was the Golf Academy so I thought something must be wrong. It was Chris May on the phone and he said he was coming over to take me to the hotel. I thought what hotel?

“It was all a bit of a shock, as I had to rush over to the [players] hotel before 5pm in order to get my COVID test done. Obviously, I am just so excited to be now playing this week.

“I struggled a bit at the start of today, not shaky but I was more reserved in my play than I normally am. As I warmed up, I became more comfortable and actually my score today doesn’t reflect how I struck the ball in the end. I just now want to get as much experience as possible from the rest of the tournament. I know I can play this golf course well. So I’ll just enjoy it as moments like this don’t often come around.”

German-born England amateur Chiara Noja, who has just moved to Dubai and earned a late invite into the main draw, signed for a five over 77.

Chiara Noja.

The post Dubai-domiciled pros smiling at opposite ends of leaderboard appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Chiara Noja will be able to compare notes with Alison Muirhead at next week’s OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic, presuming she’s made it back from Cloud 9 in time.

The 14-year-old German amateur, a new Dubai resident for all of a fortnight, has been handed a dream invite to tee it up with some of the game’s biggest names in the $285,000 Ladies European Tour Pro-Am. South African 22-year-old Muirhead, a LET rookie whose family moved to Dubai when she was eight, and Moroccan Maha Haddioui have also earned wildcards to the November 4-6 event on The Faldo at Emirates Golf Club.

The trio complete the 56-strong LET, LPGA Tour and amateur invitees list. Each will be grouped with three amateurs for the opening 36-holes of teams competition before the pros go it alone in the final round of the day-night event to complete their separate 54-hole strokeplay scrap.

Noja, already off a +5 handicap, came to prominence when she captured the Hertfordshire Lady County Championship as a 12-year-old. Her family have made the move to the UAE in search of perfect practice facilities and further opportunities to see if she can eventually make it in the pro ranks.

She didn’t expect to make her LET debut so soon after disembarking at DXB to start a new life.

“I couldn’t believe the news when the Tournament Director [Simon Corkill] contacted me to confirm that I will be playing in the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic. Thanks to their support, I will be able to test myself against the very best women in the world,” said Noja.

“I only arrived in Dubai a few weeks ago but I already feel at home here. I am working hard on my game every day and hopefully I’ll be able to make the best possible use of this invitation and show not only my fellow competitors but the Ladies European Tour that I deserve my spot.”

Alison Muirhead.

Muirhead is one who knows what Dubai can do for young golfers with big dreams.

“Having grown up in Dubai and dreamt of one day having the chance to compete against the very best, it’s very surreal to now have been offered that opportunity. I was lucky growing up in Dubai, home to some of the finest courses in the world allowing me to regularly practice in prime conditions regularly.

“As I got better, I was able to compete in multiple girls and ladies’ competitions, organised by the Emirates Golf Federation and it was success at these that gave me the confidence and desire to succeed at the highest levels of the game.”

As well as swapping similar stories, Muirhead and Noja will also get to rub shoulders with one of the strongest fields assembled in the 14-edition history of Dubai’s LET stop.

Spaniard Nuria Iturrioz is back to defend the Dallah alongside former world No.1 Lydia Ko, current world No.9 Minjee Lee, Solheim Cuppers Charley Hull, Georgia Hall and Céline Boutier, 2021 European captain Catriona Matthew and legendary Dame Laura Davies.

Health and safety precautions mean fans will not be allowed at The Faldo but Dubai Sports Channel will carry three-hours of live coverage from 7pm to 10pm on each of the three days.

Haddioui, who remains the only Arab woman to play on the LET (since 2012) is equally excited to be involved in a Dubai event like no other.

“This is a tournament I’ve always enjoyed playing in and being an Arabic speaker, Dubai is always a place I feel incredibly welcome,” said the 32-year-old.

“The LET tournament in Dubai has been a mainstay on all of our collective calendars for over a decade now and it’s one we all enjoy returning back to year after year. Obviously, it will be different not playing in front of spectators but we’re all incredibly grateful that we’ve been given the opportunity to play in such a prestigious tournament.”

In its second season as the rebranded OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic, the $285,000 event has been switched from May to November after achieving global recognition as the world’s first professional day-night tour event last year.

Formerly the OMEGA Dubai Ladies Masters, the emirate’s LET stop was first played in 2006. Annika Sorenstam, a two-time winner, Lexi Thompson and four-time champion Shanshan Feng, highlight an impressive roll-call of champions.

The post Chiara Noja, just 14 and a resident for less than a month, has just scored a dream invite to play the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The world will be watching when the Ladies European Tour makes its debut in Saudi Arabia this month. For keen followers of the game in the Middle East, the performance of Alison Muirhead will be an intriguing sub-plot in the ground-breaking story.

By Kent Gray
When the inaugural Saudi Ladies International was announced in mid-December, Alison Muirhead never entertained being part of the field, much less being eligible for a share of the $1 million purse at the trailblazing Ladies European Tour (LET) event.

Well outside the top 500 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at the time, the Johannesburg-born, Dubai-domiciled and Jumeirah Golf Estates-attached Scot was still a relatively unheralded talent.

Even as her power game started to translate into more and more top 10s at elite European events – seven in all last year – and, eventually, in victory at November’s Panoramica International Women’s Open Championship in Spain, Muirhead hadn’t committed to taking the pro plunge. That all changed just before the LET’s two-stage Q-School in January.

“I had worked hard on my game and as my results continued to improve it just seemed to be the right time at the beginning of 2020,” says the 21-year-old.

The 11th hour decision proved an inspired one. Muirhead advanced to the final, five-round stage of Q-School at Real Golf La Manga Club with medallist honours from the Pre-Qualifier at the same Spanish venue a week earlier. Clearly oozing with confidence, she negotiated the nerve-jangling finish stage with scores of 69-67-77-70-71 to finish T-2 on -7, just three shots behind experienced Welshwoman Amy Boulden.

Now, a month after her LET debut at the season-opening Australian Ladies Classic, Muirhead is fizzing to tee it up at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club from March 19-22 in a tournament set to be broadcast to an estimated television audience of 340 million across 55 countries.

“It is very exciting,” said Muirhead who moved to Dubai when the business her father worked in relocated to the emirate in 2006.

“I have never been to Saudi despite having lived in the Middle East for a long time but I watched last month’s [Saudi International on the men’s European Tour] at Royal Greens.  I like the look of the course and am excited to play it.

“I am still coming to terms with having a full LET Tour Card, it has all been a little surreal to be honest. But slowly the reality is sinking in. I hope to play well enough through my rookie season to retain my card.”

Muirhead was introduced to the game by her father and, for the past 12 years, has been coached by Mark Gregson Walters. She sprung to prominence locally when she captured the 2015-16 Emirates Golf Federation Ladies Order-of-Merit title.

“[The EGF competition] was a great beginning but then I needed to play three and four round competitions which included the Faldo Series and various amateur competitions in Europe to further develop my game to where it is today,” said Muirhead who did her final years of schooling at Dubai English Speaking College.

From her earliest introduction to the game on driving ranges, Muirhead liked giving the ball a belt with her driver, something Gregson Walters has embraced and honed with the help of strength and conditioning coach Alan Walters.

“I have always been a long hitter and we have worked to keep that as a strength by becoming straighter. But to score well when you are long, it results in you being closer to the greens so you have to become very good with your wedges to be rewarded. I always work to improve my wedge game and it has been showing in my performance.

“The facilities at JGE have also been great for training and with two championship golf courses it has been a tremendous help. I have also had great support from all the staff especially the MD, Ismail Sharif.”

Muirhead missed the cut at her LET debut in Bonville by two strokes but knew beforehand that she was on a steep learning curve. One course where she will feel at home is the Faldo for the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic in early November.

“My family have been members of Emirates G.C. since we arrived in Dubai and that is where I started to play golf. I moved to JGE when my coach became Director of the ETPI facility, now the Peter Cowan Academy.

“It is amazing to have a chance to play as a professional in a competition in my adopted home on a course that I have played many times. Last year I was travelling and competing in amateur competitions at that time [the Moonlight Classic was in May but has been moved to Nov.] so was unable to have any involvement. I can’t wait.”

Like Muirhead, the Saudi Ladies International is all about new beginnings for Golf Saudi, a fresh platform to proudly trumpet a message of inclusion and equality to an emboldened domestic audience and the wider world.

Majed Al Sorour, the CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi, certainly makes no bones about the importance of the 72-hole strokeplay event to help deliver on the Kingdom’s ‘Vision 2030’ socio-economic plan through golf.

“At Golf Saudi we are looking for equality and that’s why we reached out to the LET in order to host this tournament,” said Al Sorour.

“Women should be able to compete on their own platform and that is why we focused on the prize money for the inaugural Saudi Ladies International. We felt past amounts weren’t sufficient and that is how we came up with the decision to make it $1 million. We wanted to send a message to our women and our daughters that we are looking for equality and golf can be a vehicle to achieve this.”

Muirhead is not alone in being grateful to jump on board for the ride.

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