Khaled secured a one stroke victory after rounds of 73, 75, 75 for a tournament total of 223, over Qatar’s Saleh Ali Alkaabi and fellow Qatari Ali Al Shahrani just a further shot back, in the country’s national championship.

39 male and female competitors from across Arab and foreign countries including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Oman, Switzerland, Qatar, the United Kingdom, the USA, Palestine, the United Arab Emirates, and Ireland took part in the championship that was hosted by the Jordan Golf Federation (JGF) under the expert guidance of their coaches from the JGF.

The Jordan Open stood out as one of the most significant sporting events of 2023 in the region – Ayla Golf Club

The Greg Norman designed course and the championship both played a pivotal role in Ayla’s mission to elevate Jordan’s golf scene to global professional standards as it aims to increase the popularity of golf within the country of Jordan among diverse demographics.

Sahl Dudin, the Managing Director of Ayla Oasis and Mr. Kareem Barghouthi, President of the Jordan Golf Federation are both actively combining to collaborat together to support the Jordan Golf Federation, the Jordan Olympic Committee and the Jordanian national golf teams.

The Jordan Open stood out as one of the most significant sporting events of 2023 in the region, setting the stage for the 2024 championship.

Tournament Results:
Men Gross:
Khalid Attieh (Saudi Arabia)
Saleh Al Kaabi (Qatar)
Ali Al Shahrani (Qatar)

Men Net:
Kevin Francis (UK)
Jean Nassar (Lebanon)
Saad Hijjawi (Jordan)

Ladies Division:
Yasmeen Thaher (Jordan)
Lujain Khalil (Saudi Arabia)
Lilian Mujahed (Jordan)

Junior Under 19:
Rami Samawi (Switzerland)
Ahmed Alwahaibi (Oman)
Abdulrahman Aldaher (Jordan)

Junior Under 14:
Mohammad Alrawashdeh (Jordan)
Daniel Thaher (Jordan)
Adam Saudi (Jordan)

Image: Jordan News Agency Petra

The post Saudi Arabia’s Khaled Attieh shines in Jordan Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The on-again, off-again MENA Tour is on again, this time in an even more condensed ‘bubble’ that will float between Jordan, Oman and the UAE if coronavirus travel restrictions allow.

MENA Tour by Arena commissioner David Spencer wrote to the regional development tour’s membership on Tuesday, outlining a reworked 2021 schedule that “is fair, beneficial and cost-effective for all of our Members.”

On December 31, Spencer announced plans to play the five outstanding events from the stalled 2020 season at Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba, Jordan in March-April before an 11-event 2021 scheduled from early October.

COVID curveballs put pay to that but Spencer has this time pencilled in an October 1 start date for the five 2020 events, all of which will be hosted in a “golf bubble” at Ayla Resort, the MENA Tour’s official destination partner. A 2021 season of 10-11 events will then be squeezed into the period from November 1 to December 20.

Spencer said the tour hoped to play 2021 season events in Jordan, Muscat and in the UAE, with Al Ain, Al Zorah, Al Hamra and Tower Links likely venues in the Emirates. However, all will be dependent on COVID travel restrictions at the time with the tour to be guided by the vaccine regulations in each country with an almost play the lie mentality. The beauty of remaining in a bubble – now common place on the European and PGA Tours – is that all 15-16 events could feasibly be played at Ayla G.C. if need be, as challenging as that would be for the players.

In his email to players, Spencer said the MENA Tour would confirm the plan by June 15 this year “at the latest” to allow players to plan accordingly. With the majority of the developmental circuit’s players U.K. based, they will first require British Government permission to leave the U.K., will then need to quarantine for 14-days in a “green listed” Middle East destination – Dubai being the obvious option – before being permitted entry into Jordan, all the while hoping the green status of their quarantine base isn’t changed by the Jordanian authorities during the fortnight.

Spencer doesn’t expect any issues filling the maximum 132-player fields despite all the unknowns.

“We have been absolutely inundated with requests,” said Spencer who confirmed many of those requests had come from players from other competition starved tours.

He told Golf Digest Middle East that the “bulk” of events would retain $75,000 purses and any “slight” reduction in prize funds would be “directly attributable to any increase in player costs in relation to regulatory health costs.”

Spencer said the reworked schedule was drawn up to limit the financial outlay required by cash-strapped mini-tour players.

“I can’t imagine anyone of us will come out of this pandemic better off so we have tried to limit travel and accommodation costs,” Spencer said.

The flipside of that is playing events back to back to back at the same venue.

“We’ll start with a practice day, play 54-hole events, have a day off, play another 54-hole event, have a day off, and so on and so on. The bulk of events will be strokeplay but we’re also looking at the possibility of mixing it up with different formats like matchplay for example.

“Fortunately Ayla is such a unique destination with a great hotel now. We’ll have access to the beach club, swimming pools, night par 3 golf and ocean sports. The players will be able to do things in a bubble they can’t do elsewhere with such ease.”

Despite the ongoing challenges presented by the coronavirus, Spencer is confident the MENA Tour have found a solution that will give pro and elite amateurs some certainty in an uncertain time. He said the tour had retained all its sponsors and would be “announcing new partners shortly”. Golf Digest Middle East understands plans are also well advanced for an exciting 2022 season.

“There is absolutely no doubt that we are all living in a new world and I do not see 2021 being too much different from 2020. I do think that 2021 will be a year of recalibration and 2022 promises to be relatively normal, positive and calm. I am extremely confident that the plan that is set out above is fully achievable.

“That being said, if there are further changes they will be done from pure necessity. We will make sure that THE 2021 PLAN is fully confirmed to you all by June 15th, 2021 at the latest. This gives everyone 3+ months notice before we recommence play.

“We look forward to seeing you all again later this year. In the meantime please #StaySafe!!!”

The post MENA Tour back on with October 1 start date in Jordan; UAE, Oman to host events  appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
After nearly eight months of radio silence, the MENA Tour is finally transmitting again and the first communiqué is one of cautious optimism.

Tour Commissioner David Spencer has shared with Golf Digest Middle East a letter sent to the regional developmental circuit’s membership on Wednesday outlining a 2021 schedule featuring no fewer than 16 events.

The dispatch also promised the payment of outstanding prize money from earlier this year as well as the refunding of entry fees to events subsequently postponed by COVID-19, all in no small part courtesy of a “revised” and “fully executed” naming rights sponsorship agreement with Arena.

RELATED: Jordanian amateur Shergo Al Kurdi earns OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic start courtesy of MENA Tour ranking

The 16 events next year will include the five outstanding 2020 tournaments postponed by the coronavirus outbreak being staged in a “golf bubble” at Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba, Jordan from March 8 to April 5. An 11-event “2021 season” is then pencilled in for an October commencement, notwithstanding further pandemic curveballs.

The letter was light on specifics – event dates, purses etc.  – but will be greeted with guarded enthusiasm by the circuit’s fledging pro and amateur membership, many of whom have been left competition starved thanks to the coronavirus. The on-going support of Arena, which supplies structures to the severely impacted events industry, and Ayla, which has extended its destination partnership agreement into 2021, speaks volumes of the tour’s intent, especially in this challenging fiscal environment.

Spencer confirmed the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic would honour its committment of starts in the $3.25 million European Tour event to the top amateur and three leading professionals, a nice New Year’s boost for Jordanian amateur Shergo Al Kurdi and pros David Langley and David Hague (England) and Ryan Lumsden (Scotland).

Further European Tour, Asian Tour and Challenge Tour invites will also be offered to top performers following the five March-April events where fields will be limited to 120 players in a bio-secure bubble.

“These incentives are yet to be finally determined with other promoters but as usual we will work with the individual players once the 2020 Journey to Jordan is completed to create the best possible playing opportunities within their own playing schedules,” Spencer wrote.

There will be no Q-School for the 2021 season with all current members eligible to rejoin for the 2021 season in a category that will be determined after the completion of the 2020 Journey To Jordan. “Furthermore, we are working with several other OWGR Tours to provide MENA Tour Members with limited exemptions to play in tournaments that they are likely to be scheduled for the May to September 2021 period.”

Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba, Jordan, returns as the MENA Tour by Arena’s destination partner in 2021.

Spencer signed off the letter thanking players for their patience and understanding after an extraordinary year. The MENA Tour was the first OWGR-sanctioned circuit to suspend play – following the Journey to Jordan #2 Championship won by Lumsden, in early March. Plans to play the outstanding five events in late 2020 were tentatively announced in April but the ongoing travel challenges presented by the pandemic ensured that was a false dawn.

David Spencer

“Firstly, I want to apologise (again) for the lengthy delays in the prize fund payments,” Spencer wrote. “We appreciate that this has placed pressure on you and that was not our intention. We are very pleased to have been able to sort this issue out and look to the future in a positive and proactive manner.

“We are extremely lucky to be working with companies like ARENA and AYLA who are dedicated to the MENA Tour and have worked with us to create a future pathway.

“I am not going to go over the destructive nature of COVID especially in the world of sport, suffice to say we have navigated this situation with the players’ best interests always being paramount in all discussions.

“Like all of you, I am very much looking forward to seeing 2020 in the ‘rear-view mirror’ and applying our efforts and energies to growing our Tour and providing more exciting playing opportunities for our Members.

“#StaySafe and wishing you and your families all the best for 2021 and beyond.”

The post MENA Tour announce plans for 16 events in 2021 after emerging from ‘destructive’ pandemic bunker appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

In a last-gasp boost, the Jordanian teen learned on New Year’s eve that he will tee it up in the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic from Jan. 28 courtesy of leading the MENA Tour’s stalled 2020 amateur Order of Merit (OOM).

RELATED: MENA Tour announce plans for 16-event 2021

It is understood the 16-year-old is the first Middle Eastern player to earn a spot – others have been handed invites – into the $3.25 million European Tour event at Emirates Golf Club.

It comes after MENA Tour commissioner David Spencer sent a letter to the regional developmental circuit’s information-hungry membership outlining plans for a full 11-event schedule in 2021 – after the five events postponed by COVID-19 earlier this year are played in a month-long “golf bubble” at Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba – Al Kurdi’s home club – from March 8.

Al Kurdi will be joined at the “Major of the Middle East” by Englishmen David Langley and David Hague and Scot Ryan Lumsden, the top three players on the professional OOM before the MENA Tour was put in ice following the Journey to Jordan #2 Championship, won by Lumsden, in early March.

It’s been a year of firsts for Al Kurdi who became the first Arab male to earn Official World Golf Ranking points when he finished runner-up to Englishman David Langley at the Journey to Jordan 1 in February.  He’ll end 2020 as the world No. 1506; he is ranked No.1053 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Shergo Al Kurdi first Middle East player to earn OWGR and Olympic Golf Ranking points

The ODDC will be Al Kurdi’s fifth European Tour start; he also teed it up in the Jordan Mixed Ope, an event co-sanctioned the Challenge Tour, Staysure (Now Legends Tour) and Ladies European Tour, in April 2019.

As you’d expect, it’s a been an invaluable learning curve for the teen who first teed it up in the Qatar Masters in 2018, played the inaugural Saudi International and Trophee Hassan II in Morocco last year before returning to Doha for the Qatar Masters in March, the final event before COVID-19 shutdown the European Tour. He’s missed the cut in all five European/Challenge Tour starts but showed his progression at Education City Golf Club in March with rounds of 73-74.

Al Kurdi is no stranger to the Majlis course at Emirates G.C. He started playing MENA Tour events at the age of just 13 and was invited by then ODDC Tournament Director Spencer to play the Pro-Am at Emirates G.C. in 2014, as captured in the picture above.

Qualifying for the event proper is a continuation of the MENA Tour’s remit to see an Arab player qualify for the Olympic Games.

“We are so proud of Shergo and what he has managed to achieve at such a young age,” Spencer said in February after Al Kurdi joined the OWGR in February.

“The MENA Tour by Arena was established with this specific objective in mind and we feel validated of all the work that has been put behind the Tour. Having a player from the region qualify for the Olympics is our cherished objective, and Shergo is now well on his way.”

The post Jordanian amateur Shergo Al Kurdi creates further history after securing Desert Classic start appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Few are short but all are sweet examples of world-class golf design. Welcome to the Middle East’s best par 3s

By Kent Gray
With a defence system including (but not limited to) an old railway shed, a grand hotel, heather, a skinny green, a subterranean pot bunker and an equally uncompromising stone wall, the fearsome reputation of the ‘Road Hole’ at St. Andrews is warranted.

If you still need a refresher on why the 17th at the Old Course is the most recognisable hole in golf, search the ‘Sands of Nakajima’ and follow the endless thread. Just don’t say you weren’t forewarned, especially if you are of a nervous disposition in the sand already.

Thankfully you needn’t be a 450-yard par 4 at the Home of Golf to inspire awe.

There’s something about par 3s that trigger the golfing senses. Picture the 12th at Augusta National, the island greened 17th on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass or to the tiny (f)lick that is the ‘Postage Stamp’ at Royal Troon. How about wedging toward the pounding Atlantic Ocean that backdrops the downhill, 106-yard 7th at Pebble Beach?

In the Middle East, we’re blessed with countless examples of how a good little ‘un often beats a good big ’un. That, of course, begged this, the definitive compilation of the region’s finest short holes.

So what’s the criteria to make the cut in our list of treacherous tiddlers? It’s the same exhaustive process that determines the world’s most respected course rating system, seven categories which reward shot values, design variety, resistance to scoring, memorability, aesthetics, conditioning and ambience.

Our Top 10 Courses in the Middle East 2020 judging panel applied the same criteria to each par 3 at all the courses rated. We then tallied the scores and ranked them accordingly to compile our list from 18 to No.1. A couple of clubs feature more than once, other clubs not at all. Some selections will surprise from courses flush with memorable par 3s. It all serves to emphasise the impartiality of the system.

Without further ado, welcome to the Middle East’s best par 3s, wee wonders all. Enjoy.

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18. 16th Royal Greens Golf & Country Club
180 Yards, Stroke Index 16
Hit the ball right to left? Welcome to the warm turquoise waters of the Red Sea my friend, a place where Dustin Johnson’s title hopes momentarily took a dip with his ball in the final round of the inaugural Saudi International in 2019. Bail out right and you may still donate your sphere to Davy Jones’ Locker given how tight the green is cut to the wet stuff. Soak in the views while trying not to think about blading your chip or bunker shot.

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17. 16th Ayla Golf Club, Jordan
210 Yards, Stroke Index 14
The odds are against even low markers on this downhill, normally downwind hole to a green that slopes away to a back left bunker. Back right? Water. A pure strike is required to hold the green with the strong prevailing wind lowering ball spin. Come in too low and the ball will find its way to the back or fall into the sand. Gulp.

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16. 2nd Fire, Jumeirah Golf Estates
250 Yards, Stroke Index 17
You might be sensing a theme emerging by now and it’s not the fact Fire, like Ayla, came from the design board of Greg Norman, nor that the Shark loves a good bunker. What we are trying to say is, ball striking baby, like, you better be ripping your irons today kinda ball striking. You’ll need something stronger if you play from the tips here, something we strongly advise against. It’s easy enough to drop a shot or three without going further back than most of us travel to work nowadays.

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The pyramids are the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and a magnificent distraction at NEWGIZA.

15. 4th NEWGIZA Golf Club
187 Yards, Stroke Index 13
If you like your golf with a hearty dollop of history, put NEWGIZA on your must-play list. The signature hole at the Cairo layout – the last project of Thomson Perrett & Lobb – includes elevated views to the Great Pyramids of Giza. Breath-taking.

RELATED: Top 10 Golf Courses in the Middle East: The Class of 2020

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14. 17th The Els Club, Dubai
212 Yards, Stroke Index 15
Trust us, don’t leave it short on this beastly par-3. Don’t go long either come to think of it. Or right. And definitely not left. Gosh no. Any two putt par, one each of which will be a slippery down or side hiller, is cause for celebration. An up and down par? Well played, Seve.

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13. 16th Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club
198 Yards, Stroke Index 17
With views to the Burj Khalifa on the 5th, that big carry over water on the 8th and the equally memorable 14th, you might be surprised by the par 3 that resonated with our judges at DCGYC. But by a fraction, they plumbed for a mid-iron carry over sand to the elevated 16th and a test with the putter. The start of a magical three-hole finish that gives the ‘The Creek’ its name and your card all those big numbers.

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12. 12th Abu Dhabi Golf Club
186 Yards, Stroke Index 16
The green here isn’t tiny but boy, how magnetic is that water short? And that sand left and right. Heck, we’ve even bounced it off the boulders at the back trying to take all the other hazards out of play. Like the 7th on The National, this is another gem from Harradine Design. Which leads us too…

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11. 8th JA The Resort Golf Course
177 Yards, Stroke Index 15
Club selection is critical from the elevated tee where you are treated to lovely views over the resort’s marina and out to the Arabian Sea. With water wrapping around the left side of the green, it’s easy to find sand right and then leave your bunker escape short for fear of a thin into the H2O beyond. A seemingly simple hole where dropped shots are not uncommon.

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10. 17th Al Zorah Golf Club
224 Yards, Stroke Index 8
We’re huge fans of the short 2nd hole at Al Zorah which tests your mettle early with wetness waiting any weak or pulled (pushed for lefties) strike. We also enjoy the short 15th but for design and resistance to scoring, the 17th at the Golden Bear’s Ajman layout takes some beating. Forget par if you are short here, especially if you draw a sticky lie when the tide is out. All carry, all class from Jack Nicklaus Design.

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9. 15th Majlis, Emirates Golf Club
190 Yards, Stroke Index 14
The final par 3 on the Majlis isn’t dissimilar to the 17th at Al Zorah. This is a hole all about hitting and holding the green because anything short or left will leave a tricky desert lie to an elevated green and likely a frustrating blob on your scorecard. Beyond the green? Best left for spectating at the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic.

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8. 17th Dubai Hills Golf Club
203 Yards, Stroke Index 2
Few of the holes in our selection have a single figure stroke index rating. A clear exception to that coincidence is the penultimate hole at Dubai Hills. Good players will look to draw the ball away from the water that hugs the right-hand side of this hole but even low handicappers will be frustrated by a poor strike or an untimely gust at some point. Brutal!

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7. 17th Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
147 Yards, Stroke Index 15
Framed by the white sands and the sparkling waters of the Arabian Gulf, the penultimate hole at Gary Player’s Abu Dhabi masterpiece scored well for aesthetics. It also resonated with our judges for resistance to scoring despite being a mere flick most days. Proof that par 3s needn’t be monsters to be memorable.

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6. 11th Al Mouj Golf
230 Yards, Stroke Index 13
The island-style green on the 5th at Greg Norman’s Muscat gem makes for a memorable par 3 but it can only doff its cap to the 11th where the green seemingly melds into the horizon. Don’t be distracted by those dreamy Sea of Oman vistas…you’re going to need a pure blow to escape with par or better here.

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5. 9th Dubai Hills Golf Club
220 Yards, Stroke Index 3
They clearly like their par 3s tough at Dubai Hills as witnessed by the two entries in our list, including the stroke 2 17th. The 9th is the most picturesque of the memorable collection of par 3s (we like No.2 as well) and, at 220 yards from the tips, is not for the faint of heart. We’d love a dirham for every water ball and two for every bailout right.

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4. 7th Majlis, Emirates Golf Club
186 yards, Stroke Index 15
The second of the memorable collection of par 3s imagined into life by Karl Litten on the Majlis more than 30 years ago wouldn’t be out of place today at one of the UK’s famous old parkland courses. Beware the false front ready to suck your ball back into the lake and don’t be surprised if you face a lengthy first putt. And a knee-knocker for par. Or bogey.

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3. 17th Earth, Jumeirah Golf Estates
195 Yards, Stroke Index 8
It’s the UAE’s answer to the 17th at TPC Sawgrass and like The Players Championship, the penultimate hole on Earth regularly has its say in the outcome of the Race to Dubai decider, often with a incredible escape from one of the bunkers. Club selection can be tricky if the wind is swirling. Par here is never to be sniffed at.

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2. 17th Trump International Golf Club, Dubai
156 Yards, Stroke Index 18
Designer Gil Hanse clearly got the memo on the beauty of short, short holes. It’s easy to be sucked in by any pin cut to the front right of this cleverly sculpted green. Anything short is a bogey-plus in the making and good luck negotiating that shallow wee bunker beyond the green too. The sage option is to aim for the middle of the green and take your chances with the flat stick.

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1. 17th Yas Links Abu Dhabi
204 Yards, Stroke Index 13
The downhill 4th, the nifty 8th, the pretty little uphill 13th. All stunning. But the penultimate hole at Kyle Phillips’ Abu Dhabi masterpiece? In a different league. Any tee-ball other than a green finder leaves a devilishly difficult up and down. A par here will linger in the memory, as will the social media mementoes you snapped with your phone camera from the tee. And looking from beyond the greenback towards the tee. It’s majestic from every angle and in every sense.

RELATED:
Top 10 Golf Courses in the Middle East: The Class of 2020
Be at 1: Tame stroke index 1 Middle East courses

The post Wee Wonders: The Middle East’s best par 3s appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 800,000 square metre property on the shores of Jordan’s Red Sea in Aqaba joins Emirates Golf Club in Dubai as the second club in the Middle East with links to IMG Prestige, an “elite network” of clubs around the world. In addition to driving green fee revenue for clubs, IMG Prestige promises benefits for members of clubs within its network including preferred access, special rates, discounts and “privileges” offered by its partners and other clubs in the network, via the company’s concierge service.

Other venues under the IMG Prestige umbrella include Ryder Cup venue Le Golf National on the outskirts of Paris, Vietnam’s KN Golf Links Cam Ranh (like Ayla a Greg Norman design), renowned Cape Kidnappers and Kauri Cliffs in New Zealand and the prestigious London Club in England and Mount Juliet in Kilkenny, Ireland.

Ayla Golf Club, rated 9th in the 2020 Golf Digest Middle East Top 10 courses ranking, hosted the Jordan Mixed Open last year, a world-first mixed events featuring players from the European Challenge, Ladies European Tour and Staysure (Senior) Tour. The Greg Norman design is also destination partner of the MENA Tour and is working to host the completion of the regional developmental circuit’s COVID-19 disrupted season in a luxury encampment style lock-in later this year.

RELATED: MENA Tour eyeing six-week Aqaba encampment to finish postponed Journey to Jordan season

Ayla Golf Club head professional Chris Dodd trusts IMG Prestige will bring further exposure to the club and the Kingdom.

“Ayla is Jordan’s first championship golf venue and we are very proud of the experience we have to offer visiting golfers. The association with IMG Prestige makes total sense for us as we look to promote the club internationally,” Dodd said.

Russell Hannah, Senior Director of IMG Golf Course Services, described Ayla as a “unique destination” that IMG Prestige are “delighted to welcome…to the network”.

“The resort is a fabulous waterfront development offering an unforgettable experience to our club members. We hope to see international travel allowed very soon so everyone can enjoy everything this world-class facility has to offer.”

The par 5 17th at Ayla G.C. in Aqaba, Jordan.

Ayla features a nine-hole, fully floodlit academy course in addition to the 18 hole championship course. Created in an architectural style that mimics the rolling green fairways of the course, the Ayla clubhouse includes a dedicated golf academy clubhouse, swing studio, putting studio, meeting room and gourmet restaurant.

The post Ayla Golf Club links with IMG Prestige appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Plans to bring the MENA Tour’s cosmopolitan membership together to finish the postponed 2020 season at a single venue in a luxury, compound-style bubble are well advanced, Golf Digest Middle East has learned.

MENA Tour by Arena commissioner David Spencer has confirmed the regional developmental circuit is looking to play the five remaining events in a six-week stretch between mid-October and late November at Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba, the tour’s destination partner.

The proposal is subject to the approval of “all the necessary regulatory authorities” and any travel restrictions in place at the time but Spencer believes it will be well supported by an international cast of players desperate for playing opportunities amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Those players would be extremely well looked if the bold plan succeeds with the wider Ayla Oasis resort set to become a luxury, all necessities-covered camp for players.

“We are looking at the complete package that would leave the professionals with literally nothing else to focus on than playing golf tournaments,” Spencer said.

“We are talking about food and beverage, laundry, medical support, etc. We’d also need to look at something like a beach club, sailing or the like because we won’t be playing every day for six weeks.”

Jordan is currently in lockdown with Spencer saying the MENA Tour is “looking at a quarantine package” if the strict travel /health restrictions remained in place come October.

David Spencer

“We are really taking a deep dive but that’s part of our job and that’s to come up with realistic opportunities for our members. Ayla is so spectacular, we think the players will like the idea of staying in one place,” Spencer said.

“I think the days of a travelling sports circus are… a long time to come [return] for golf.”

That is a thinly veiled pointer to the challenges facing the European Tour, which has postponed or cancelled events to mid-July and given no timeline for a possible return to action despite the PGA Tour having locked in a mid-June restart. However, chief executive Keith Pelley has told his members a “radically different” European Tour could be kick-started with multiple events at one venue, much like the MENA Tour model, in what is one of a number of recovery options being considered.

The MENA Tour is believed to be the first Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR)-sanctioned circuit to suspend its season as the enormity of the pandemic was slowly becoming evident around the world, a March 5 decision for which the it tour’s leadership had “coped a lot of flak”, according to Spencer. However, the MENA Tour’s Australian commissioner was concerned players could become locked down somewhere in the Middle East if the organisation hadn’t of taken the early stance.

The tour’s ‘Journey to Jordan’ campaign was postponed after the confusingly entitled Journey to Jordan #2 Championship, won by Scotsman Ryan Lumsden, concluded on March 4. It was the second of three events scheduled to be played at Ayla, including the $100,000 Arena Tour Championship, which was due to have concluded today, April 23.

Events in Abu Dhabi, at Tower Links in Ras Al Khaimah and a Northern Emirates Open, to be jointly hosted at Al Hamra in RAK and Al Zorah in Ajman, were also locked into the schedule but now the season looks likely to be played out solely in Aqaba.

Ayla G.C.

Further details of the proposed Ayla encampment, such as prize money and the outcome of season-long rewards including invites to events on bigger tours that are a huge lure to fledging young professionals, are expected to become clearer in coming weeks.

The MENA Tour has long secured spots for its best performers at European Tour events including the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic but the seismic economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic has now put the very survival of a number of tours, notably the Challenge and European Senior (Staysure) Tours, into sharp focus.     

Spencer said he was indebted to the on-going support of Arena, the MENA Tour’s title sponsor, and Ayla despite their income streams being “decimated” like so many others in the sports/entertainment industry.

The post MENA Tour eyeing luxury, six-week Aqaba encampment to finish postponed Journey to Jordan season appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

On Wednesday at the Greg Norman-designed Ayla Golf Club, the London-based Lumsden made a double bogey six on the tough 18^th hole, but he had done enough good work before that to post a two-under par 70 final round. That took his tally to eight-under par 208 for the tournament, one better than Knipes, who closed with a four-under par 68 for a seven-under par total.

There was a five-way tie for the third place with Sweden’s Ake Nilsson (69) reaching six-under par 210 alongside the English quartet of Jamie Rutherford (65), Mitch Waite (68), Tom Sloman (70) and Benjamin David (70).

England’s David Langley secured himself a start at the Trophee Hassan II on the European Tour by topping the Journey to Jordan at the halfway stage. He shot a two-under par 70 in the final round to finish in tied 35^th place. David Hague, the only other player who could have overtaken Langley this week, was tied 30^th and could not surmount the difference in earning between the two.

However, the star of the day was the 23-year-old Lumsden, who is expected to move to inside the top-1000 of the OWGR with his triumph.

The Northwestern University star, who will start in the AT&T Byron Nelson Classic in May on the PGA Tour for winning the Byron Nelson Award in US collegiate golf last year, was fast off the blocks with birdies on the first, fourth, fifth and sixth holes. He then missed birdie chances on the seventh, eight and ninth holes to make the turn at four-under par and ahead by three shots over Sloman.

His first bogey of the day came from the greenside bunker on the par-3 12^th hole, and he was lucky not to get wet on the par-3 13^th when he hooked his tee shot way off the mark. Lumsden made a crucial par save from 20 feet on the 15^thbefore a clutch birdie from the bunker on the 17^th gave him the necessary cushion going down the 18^th hole with Knipes having already finished on seven-under par.

Curtis Knipes (Photo by Joy Chakravarty)

Lumsden found the fairway bunker on the 18^th, took three shots to get to the green and three-putted for a six on the final hole.

“Don’t ask me about the 18^th, but I am delighted to get the win,” said Lumsden.

“I felt really good about my game the whole day. Got off to a good start and was four-under through six holes. I then made great putts that barely missed on the next two holes. On the ninth, I hit a wonderful drive and had just about 200 yards, but it was at the bottom of a divot and I could not risk the water on the left so had to lay up and the birdie putt lipped out.

“Went through a little bit of a rough patch on the back nine, but I was able to make some good swings after that. I will think back about the 18^th hole and process what I did wrong there, but very happy to get the job done and hopefully, we can carry it on from here.

“There wasn’t one defining or key moment today. The par save on the 15^th was great, but so was the up-and-down for birdie on the 17^th. I just played solid golf throughout.”

The 19-year-old Knipes, who turned professional this year, recorded his best ever finish on the MENA Tour by Arena. The 68 included just one bogey, which came on the fifth hole when he chunked a wedge shot from the middle of the fairway, but that was the only mistake he made.

“I played pretty well today. The conditions were very fair and I did have a number in mind for the final round. I wanted to get to 10-under par, so a 65. That was not to be, but I am very happy with the runner-up finish,” said Knipes, who qualified for the Open Championship last year as an amateur.

“Very happy with the way I have started as a professional. I had four top-10s in five starts and even though I felt I let go a couple of chances to win, I know my time will come. I just have to be patient.”

The post Ryan Lumsden wins his maiden MENA Tour title in Journey to Jordan #2 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

But forget the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, all his past amateur exploits or even the $8.1 million AT&T Byron Nelson coming up at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, Texas from May 7-10. For now, the London-born and based Scot is focused on turning a two-stroke 36-hole lead at the Journey to Jordan #2 Championship into a MENA Tour by Arena breakthrough and his maiden professional title on Wednesday.

A superb, bogey-free 69 in brutally windy conditions at Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba saw the 23-year-old move to -6, 138 on Tuesday, two clear of England’s Tom Sloman (70) and Benjamin David (71).

Just setting up the scene for Journey to Jordan #2, Round 2. The predicted 10mph wind has turned into a 25-30mph gale in the morning at @AylaOasis Golf Club. pic.twitter.com/3IdP3K2GVH

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) March 3, 2020

Englishman Curtis Knipes, playing in his first season as a professional, stayed in contention after an even-par 72 round which tied him for the fourth place at -3 alongside American Ben Schlottman (68), two-time MENA Tour winner Luke Joy (70) and the Swedish pair of Filip Lundell (70) and Ake Nilsson (71).

The trick for Lumsden in the final round will be getting across the line after three near misses on the regional circuit already this season, two of them at Ayla G.C.

He played the last two holes to one-over and lost in the play-off for medallist honours at Q-School in Aqaba in January. In the Journey to Jordan #1 Championship, he was one shot off the lead but signed for a closing 76 to drift out to 20th place. Last week in Bahrain, Lumsden was two-over for the last four holes to lose by two.

“I have been learning from those mistakes and trying to figure out how I can play the golf I have been playing when I am down the stretch and get over that hump and get my first win on the MENA Tour,” said Lumsden who earned his first Official World Golf Ranking points in Bahrain.

“I have been thinking about it lately. I did a much better job in Bahrain last week. My mistakes weren’t really mental out there, just a couple of good shots ending up in positions where I did not think they would. I just need to stick to the process of hitting one good shot after another.

“It’s really going to be a case of staying in the moment and not letting my head get in the way and thinking ahead. I just see it as another opportunity to figure out my stuff coming down the stretch and I see it only helping me down the line.”

For the record, Lumsden carded rounds of 82-76 at Shinnecock Hills to miss the cut by 10 shots in 2018. It was nothing to be sneezed at though – two time major champion and 2014 U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer also finished +18 that week.

Lumsden secured his place on the Bryson Nelson by becoming the first player from Great Britain and Ireland the Bryson Nelson Award last April following a memorable stint at Northwestern University in Illinois. The coveted prize, granted by the Golf Coaches Association of America, recognised the strength of Lumsden’s entire collegiate academic (he majored in economics) and golf career. The selection panel also considered “good citizenship”, something that Nelson, a five-time major winner and sixth on the all-time PGA Tour list with 52 triumphs, was renowned for over the course of his life and golf career.

Ryan Lumsden is a Scotsman and spent 4 years playing college golf in the Windy City at @NUGolf_Live.

No wonder then that the 23-year-old battled well against the high wind at Ayla to post a bogey-free 69 and take a two-shot lead in the J2J #2.

Report…https://t.co/Rw8VAcuaMu pic.twitter.com/RLdrsMkTip

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) March 3, 2020

Overnight leader Mitch Waite, meanwhile, started in sensational fashion by making an eagle on the par-4 10th hole after driving the green, but four subsequent bogeys dropped him to solo ninth place at two-under-par.

The race for the Trophee Hassan II start on the European Tour is still on between Journey to Jordan Order of Merit leader David Langley and second-placed David Hague. Langley made the cut on the number, while Hague was tied 34th and would need to finish inside the top-10 depending on his rival’s finish.

The cut was applied at nine-over par with 49 professionals and one amateur, Dubai-based Indian Arjun Gupta, proceeding to the final round.

The post PGA Tour-bound Ryan Lumsden has unfinished MENA Tour business to take care of first appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Shergo Al Kurdi is following a MENA Tour-paved path to his Olympic Games dream

By Kent Gray
Mousa Al Kurdi pleaded with his son to withdraw but as 16-year-olds with big golf dreams are want to do, the advice fell on deaf ears.

It’s late November, the evening before the MENA Tour’s 2019 season-decider at Ayla Golf Club in Jordan and Shergo Al Kurdi is in “extreme” discomfort. The Surrey-domiciled Jordanian teen would battle through intestinal pain and inexplicable fatigue for three rounds for a share of 59th place in Aqaba, unremarkable without the context of what happened next.

It might have been seasons end but Al Kurdi Jnr., clearly upset with a closing round of 81 in Aqaba that included a quadruple bogey nine, retired to the club’s par-3 course to get some practice in for the King Hamad Trophy in Bahrain the following week.

“That is the first time I saw my son crying from the pain,” said Mousa Al Kurdi who put a club in his son’s hands before Al Kurdi Jnr could walk. “For me as a father, I felt hopeless. Seeing my son in that level of pain and not being able to do anything about it.”

Rapid Development. Shergo Al Kurdi was introduced to golf before he could walk.

Ayla Oasis, the resort of which Ayla Golf Club is the centrepiece and Shergo Al Kurdi is attached, summoned their duty doctor who arranged transport to a local hospital.  “They gave him morphine to stop the pain. The following morning we were on a plane to his next competition to play the King Hamad Trophy in Bahrain where he made the cut and, if I remember correctly, finished 24th.”

Shergo Al Kurdi is clearly a tough kid. But the often excruciating pain in Aqaba were the warning shots of Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disorder that is now a constant and unfriendly companion.

“With Crohn’s, you have times of flare-ups and remission. When I have a flare-up it’s very difficult to deal with. I’m in a lot of pain and playing golf can be very difficult,” says Al Kurdi Jnr.

“During times of remission it’s okay and it’s just a case of managing the condition and staying in remission as long as possible. I’m learning how to control it with diet and medication when necessary but it’s not fully under control yet.

“My diet is difficult to manage, especially when I travel abroad. I don’t have the luxury of eating things that other golfers might eat, like energy bars, nuts or bananas. And I’m not supposed to eat fibre, so diet is a real issue.

“I’ve spoken to other people and golfers who also have Crohn’s, so I’m not alone. I know it’s not going to go away but I’m hoping I can learn to manage it so that it doesn’t control my life or my golf.”

So far, so good in that respect. Fast-forward to the opening event of the 2020 MENA Tour by Arena season, back at Ayla G.C., and Al Kurdi fired an opening 70 in brutally windy conditions for a share of the first-round lead. He would eventually go on to finish T-2, four shots behind English professional David Langley, and any disappointment of coming so close to victory was lessened as he became the first player from the Middle East to earn Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.

Now attached to Ayla G.C. in Jordan, he repaid the Aqaba club by winning amateur honours at the MENA Tour’s recent Journey to Jordan #1 Championship last month.

Al Kurdi’s dream of marching behind the Jordanian flag into the 2024 Paris Olympic Games had suddenly become more than, well, a mere fantasy. At 1511th place in the OWGR, he has a long, long way to go to make the 60-man field for Paris but with spots allocated on OWGR points with regional allocations, Al Kurdi sees a way.

“I’m hoping my ranking will improve and I can be part of it. It would not only be great for me and Jordan but for all of the Middle East,” he said.

“It came as a shock to be honest [the OWGR points]. I had no idea. I hope it will encourage other people in the region to take up golf especially as there are now many more tournaments in the Middle East for people to compete in.”

The MENA Tour was established in 2009 with the objective of getting a player from the Middle East to the Olympics. Rayhan Thomas and lately Josh Hill and Arjun Gupta are decent Dubai-raised and MENA Tour-honed chances but in Al Kurdi, the regional development circuit now has a genuine ‘local’ to champion.

“We are so proud of Shergo and what he has managed to achieve at such a young age,” said MENA Tour Commissioner David Spencer.

“The MENA Tour by Arena was established with this specific objective in mind and we feel a validation of all the work that has been put behind the tour. Having a player from the region qualify for the Olympics is our cherished objective, and Shergo is now well on his way.”

Al Kurdi, who has committed to five of the 10 events leading up to April’s $125,000 ‘The Arena (Tour) Championship’, doesn’t need prompting to play the mutual appreciation game.

“The MENA Tour is a great introduction to life on tour. at every event I learn more about golf and more about myself.”

“The MENA Tour has been great for competitive golf, playing against great golfers from around the world. It’s a great introduction to what life is like on tour. At every event I learn more about golf and more about myself.”

A professional career beckons but for now Al Kurdi, playing off a plus-2 handicap, is intent on learning his craft. He was to tee it up in the Qatar Masters in early March in what will be his second European Tour start after playing in Doha as a 14-year-old where he gave hint of his immense talent by signing for a one-over-par opening round.

The immediate goal is to top the MENA Tour’s amateur Journey to Jordan Order of Merit standings which would guarantee a start in next year’s OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic. Post-April, the Chertsey-born and raised (and now home-schooled) Al Kurdi has a series of elite U-18 events in Britain, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne in late Oct. and the Pan Arab men’s and U-18 tournaments to look forward to.

“With the program, I am following right now, I should only see improvement. I’m only 16 and I’m still growing and going through changes. So as long as I adapt to those changes and work hard I’m sure greater consistency will come.

“My strengths and weaknesses? Well, my strengths are my calmness, which I get from my mother (Sam), and my passion and work ethic, which I get from my father. My father has always taught me… it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

The long, winding, exciting road to Paris, paved by the MENA Tour by Arena, continues.

The post The trailblazing Jordanian teen’s feats on the MENA Tour haven’t been easily achieved appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.