By John Huggan
When Adrian Otaegui arrived at the Sam Torrance-designed Fairmont course just outside St. Andrews for the inaugural Scottish Championship, the 27-year-old Spaniard was most notable for two things. First, despite owning two victories on the European Tour—the 2017 Paul Lawrie Match Play and the 2018 Belgian Knock-Out—Otaegui had yet to win a 72-hole stroke-play event.

Second, and less positively, the man from San Sebastian on Spain’s blustery north coast is well-known as one of the slowest players on the Old World circuit. Famously outed by Italy’s Edoardo Molinari, Otaegui was one of three players who the tour (privately) fined $3,000 in 2019 for their pedestrian pace. And earlier this year, after playing in the same group as Otaegui in the final round of the Saudi International, South Africa’s Justin Harding variously labelled his ponderous companion a “tortoise” and “inconsiderate.”

All of which makes Otaegui’s third European Tour victory both welcome and somewhat ironic. Making light work of what was a three-shot deficit, the soon-to-be champion raced past overnight leader Matt Wallace, who closed with a 71. More specifically, Otaegui made eight birdies in 11 holes starting on the fifth en route to what was, eventually, a comfortable four-shot victory over the world No. 51.

The winner’s Sunday 63, like his opening 62, included 10 birdies, and his 23-under-par 265 aggregate score was worth €156,825 from the €1 million prize fund. On-form Aaron Rai, adding to his recent runner-up finish at the Irish Open and win at the Scottish Open, was third, six-shots back, one ahead of two more Englishmen, Chris Paisley and Garrick Porteous.

“My whole week has been very good,” said Otaegui, the third Spaniard after Seve Ballesteros and Rafa Cabrera-Bello to win a professional event on Scottish soil. “But today my aim was just to give myself lots of chances, which I did very well. My iron play was especially pleasing. I hit some great shots into the greens to set up all those birdies. The 7-iron to the 11th was really important after I made my only bogey of the day at the previous hole. And I made all the important putts, the six-footers, you need to make. I’m very happy and very proud to win here at St. Andrews.”

Otaegui’s win was not his first in the land where golf began, however. Ten years ago he lifted the British Boys’ title over two Ayrshire links, Barassie and Dundonald, displaying an early propensity for both match play and golf by the seaside. Which is no great surprise. Another former winner of that junior title, two-time Masters champion Jose Maia Olazabal, is also a native of San Sebastian and something of a mentor to his younger compatriot.

“I’ve been very lucky to know Jose for many years,” Otaegui said. “I have played many rounds and practiced many times with him. He has been a massive inspiration for me. I owe him so much. Today I would not have been the same out there without his influence. I have learned so much from him.”

Looking ahead, Otaegui revealed himself to be a “day-to-day” guy. In other words, he’s not big on setting specific long-term goals. The end of the year is far enough for him. But he was clearly relieved to have broken through in stroke play, what he called “my favorite way of golf. You have to play very solidly and very consistently all four rounds, which I think I did this week.”

“I obviously have long-term ambitions, but those goals are there to make you practice better, practice harder,” he said. “Once you are at a tournament, you just have to focus on the present. My dream has always been to win the Ryder Cup, to win majors, but right now I’m just focused on the end of the season. To get ready for the DP World [Tour Championship], to get up in the rankings, and obviously have more playing opportunities for next year.”

In that respect at least, he’s off to a fast start.

The post Spain’s Adrian Otaegui takes care of some career firsts en route to Scottish Championship win appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

A fortnight after his breakthrough European Tour triumph in South Africa and a week after his impressive T-5 follow-up in Abu Dhabi, the 31-year-old Englishman again finds himself on the front page of red-hot leaderboard at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

A seven-under 65 left him just three strokes off first round pole-sitter Jamie Donaldson and surfing along at a scarcely believable 45 under par for his last nine rounds.

“It’s obviously really nice to keep it going. You have a lot of hard times in golf and just trying to ride the wave and enjoy it while I’m playing well,” said the former University of Tennessee player.

“I don’t feel like I’m trying to force anything. I’m just kind of taking each shot as it comes and just playing really solid golf. So that’s good fun.”

Paisley’s eight-birdie, one-bogey lap of the Majlis Thursday was indeed a dandy round but while it may have looked a breeze in the breathless conditions, he’s still having to keep tabs on his emotions.

“I’ve always been the first to kind of doubt myself. That’s kind of not there at the moment, which is really nice,” said Paisley who finished a lowly 112 in last season’s Race to Dubai.

“The kind of strategy I’ve been going with recently is to be sensibly aggressive. Obviously on a day like this, the guys are going to shoot good scores but you don’t want to force it too much, either. Obviously my confidence is kind of up… Just making good swings at smart targets and giving myself a lot of birdie putts.”

With his wife Kerrie on his bag as a 11th hour replacement in Gauteng, Paisley’s three-stroke win at the BMW SA Open and solid Abu Dhabi retort has seen him bank €254,545 in the past fortnight. It’s propelled the world No. 96 up to fourth in the early Race to Dubai standings with €272,400 from four starts (including a payless missed cut at the Australian PGA before Christmas) and sees him on the cusp of qualifying for golf’s top tournaments. It’s not bad for a player whose previous pro wins came on the lowly Alps Tour and at the 2012 English Challenge, a Challenge Tour event.

“I’m trying not to be too comfortable because I tend to play my best when I put myself under a little bit of pressure, obviously not too much but I don’t want to get too comfortable and think I’ve got an exemption or whatever.

“I want to push on, and got a chance of getting into the WGC in Mexico, and if I get in that, then who knows. I’m really just kind of trying to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

The post Paisley poised again appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
Chris Paisley was never going to forget his first victory on the European Tour, whenever it came. But the 31-year-old Englishman’s three-stroke win over Branden Grace at the BMW South African Open was made all the more memorable thanks to the person he had on his bag during the week at Glendowner Golf Club: his wife, Keri.

It was the first time that Keri had caddied for Chris on tour, and she helped her husband hang on when Grace, a South African native looking to win the last marquee event in his country that he had never captured, took over the lead early in Sunday’s round.

Paisley began the round one shot up on Grace, but the World No. 30 and eight-time European Tour winner got off to a birdie-eagle start to jump to the top of the leader board. Still, Paisley didn’t press, making a birdie of his own on the second hole and then two more through the front nine to grab back the lead when Grace double-bogeyed the par-3 sixth.

On the back nine, Paisley remained focused, making three more birdies for a closing 66 for a 21-under 267. Meanwhile, Grace bogeyed the par-4 12th, so that his eagle on the par-5 13th and birdies on the 15th and 16th were too little, too late as he would finish with a 68.

“I still can’t believe it,” said Paisely, a former All-American college golfer at Tennessee who ranked 289th in the world starting the week. “Going head-to-head against Branden, in his home country with pretty much everyone in the crowd on his side was tough, but I just played great. I played out of my skin. I didn’t even think I was capable of playing that well to be honest, and to come out on top in such a wonderful place is amazing.”

Paisley’s last win came on the Challenge Tour in 2012. His regular caddie was taking an extended vacation into the new year, so Paisley asked his bride to pitch in. “She doesn’t know that much about golf, but she knows me really well and she knows when I’m going a little quicker than I usually do or getting a bit tight,” Chris said. “Coming up the last fairway with her next to me was just incredible.”

See for yourself:

Congratulations @ChrisPaisley86!

The #BMWSAOpen champion ? pic.twitter.com/6ZafMjnDaX

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 14, 2018

The post Chris Paisley’s maiden European Tour win is extra special thanks to his caddie this week appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 37-year-old Spaniard backed up his pace-setting 65 Thursday with a 67 at Emirates Golf Club early Saturday to be -12 for the championship, three shots clear of compatriot Nacho Elvira (68).

A 68 has Open champion Henrik Stenson lurking at -8 in a share of third place alongside South African George Coetzee while American Peter Uihlein and Englishman Chris Paisley are a shot further back. Ryder Cup veteran Ian Poulter is at -6.

In exciting news for the MENA Tour, Dubai-adopted India amateur Rayhan Thomas has survived a topsy-turvy second round to make his first European Tour cut at just his third attempt, some feat for a 17-year-old.

Resuming his second round at even par (-4 for the championship after Thursday’s sparking 68), Thomas teetered with a double bogey on the 5^th and further dropped shots on the 6^th, 10^th and 12^th before getting it back to -3. But the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club member threw away back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 with a double bogey seven on the 18^th to eventually sign for a 75. Thankfully he’s still in the red at -1 for the championship, three shots inside the cut line at +1.

Rayhan Thomas has made the cut despite a topsy-turvy second round 75 – Getty Images

The top of the leaderboard is predictably dominated by those who found themselves on the right side of the draw for this bizarrely weather-impacted Desert Swing decider.

Garcia took advantage of the best of Thursday’s conditions and clearly didn’t mind being hooked from the Majlis course just five holes into his second round last night. He returned this morning to rattle off three successive birdies from the 6^th and then cancelled out a bogey on the long par 412^th with further gains on the 13^th and 16^th.

Coetzee had the lead at -9 when play was suspended on Thursday due to high winds and got it to -10 with a birdie on his first hole back, the par 5 18^th. But a bogey on the short par 4 2^nd and a double bogey on his final hole, the water-fringed 9^th, saw the 30-year-old, three-time European Tour winner sign for a second round 70.

Noteables to miss the cut include Qatar Masters champion Jeunghun Wang, out-going and incoming Ryder Cup captains Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn and Frenchman Victor Dubuisson (all at +3).

The post Garcia retains Desert Classic lead as Dubai amateur Thomas makes the cut appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Welshman Bradley Dredge, who carded an even par 72 following a sizzling opening 64, held onto his overnight lead but now has eight players for company at the summit on -8.

There was a nine-way tie for the first-round lead at The Celtic Manor Wales Open in 1997 but never before in European Tour history have nine players shared the lead after 36-holes.

Another seven players are a shot adrift and with the cut made at -2, 70 players in total have made the weekend at Doha Golf Club. Each and every one of them is a genuine chance in the filling event of the European Tour’s tasty Desert Swing sandwich.

Koren Jeunghun Wang, a two-time winner last season and the European Tour’s Rookie-of-the-Year, and Spaniard Jorge Campillo made the biggest impression on the leaderboard Friday with second round 67s seeing them leapfrog 28 places into a share of the lead.

Also tied at the top are Englishman Andy Sullivan (68), Spaniard Nacho Elvira (69), Finn Mikko Orhonen (71), Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat (70, pictured above) and South Africans Jaco Van Zyl (69) and Thomas Aiken (68).

A @EuropeanTour first…

We have a nine (yes nine!) way tie for the lead after 36 holes. pic.twitter.com/fQYjKI6K1U

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 27, 2017

Among those to make the cut was Englishman Chris Paisley whose luck turned on the 17th hole when he sucked a 9 iron into the cup on the 135-yard par 3.

Paisley scored $150,000 from Qatar Duty Free for the ace and eased into the weekend at -3 after rounds of 74-67.

Ace!@ChrisPaisley86 makes a hole-in-one from 135 yards at the 17th! pic.twitter.com/ml3Ga62UD9

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 27, 2017

“I was in between a wedge and a nine-iron, and decided to go with a little nine-iron. I just hit it perfectly and when it landed, I said, ‘go in’, and it did, so I’m just delighted,” said Paisley, who also birdied 18 for a tournament-changing 67.

“It was a great feeling, but strange, as I went 27 holes this week without making a birdie and was three-over-par, struggling to make the cut. All of a sudden I made a couple of birdies and had a hole-in-one and I was inside the cut mark. I suppose it shows you…never give up!”

Paisley joins Jarrod Lyle and Van Zyl as the only players to make an ace in the 2017 Race to Dubai so far.  It was his fifth ace but first on the European Tour and the 10th in the 20 editions of the Qatar Masters. He is the first to do so on the 17th hole since Warren Bennett 12 years ago.

Tommy Fleetwood was among the big names to miss the cut with rounds of 73-73 a week after capturing the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Other notable names with the weekend off are Matteo Manaserro, Thongchai Jaidee (both -1) and Stephen Gallagher at +2 alongside Fleetwood.

The post Gridlock in Qatar appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.