One back at the start, 27-year-old Prinsloo closed with a 68 to reach 12-under for the tournament, beating Sandys, who carded the day’s low score of a 67, by two shots for his first Big Easy Tour win since 2013.

England’s Jeff Inglis joined the South African duo of Jacquin Hess and Francois Coetzee for a share of third on -7 as the MENA Tour’s Jamie Elson, who led by one shot overnight, returned a final round 75 to settle for solo sixth a further shot adrift.

“It’s been a while since I won on the Big Easy, but, it’s very nice to win the co-sanctioned event with the MENA Tour. It just feels like it’s a step higher,” said Prinsloo.

“The last leaderboard was on hole number 15’s green and I still had a three-shot lead there. I thought ‘OK, this looks pretty simple’, and all of a sudden on 17, Omar (Sandys) was on 10-under and put some pressure on me. But luckily I kept calm and put the ball in the right spaces, and yeah got it done.

“I just had to keep doing the things I have done the last two days and, it’s always a little bit tougher to do that on the last day, a little bit more pressure. But, I managed to stay calm.”

Elsewhere, Sweden’s Henric Sturehed signed for a 71 to finish in a three-way tie for seventh on five under, one ahead of fellow MENA Tour member Antonio Costa of Chile and two better of Fredrik From, the winner of the Pattana Golf Championship in Thailand last month.

England’s Sam Hobday took the honours in the amateur division on +8 after closing with a 78 as Brazil’s Tiago Lobo, who hit the front on day one with a 73, failed to keep the momentum going, missing the cut on Wednesday after a second-round 78.

Next up is The Roar, the third and final co-sanctioned event on MENA Tour’s South Africa swing, which will be played at Waterkloof Golf Club in Pretoria from June 20 to 22.

The post Late charge propels Prinsloo to victory at Jo’burg City Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 29-year-old Englishman missed the cut by four shots at Country Club Johannesburg but it his second round 76 Wednesday was a clear struggle as he outlined his latest blog which explored “a very disappointing week but very odd circumstances.”.

“I have been in bed pretty much since I finished my second round yesterday. I woke up yesterday morning with cold sweats and basically all of my joints hurt and my feet were on fire,” Joy said.

“I was first off yesterday at 7.00am starting on the 10th tee and it was freezing cold but I was still sweating so I knew something was not right. I tried my upmost to get round and play but got off to a shocking start and was +4 through nine holes and didn’t really have any control of my body.

RELATED: Elson eyes MENA Tour OOM lead as Joy’s glum Jo’burg City Masters ends prematurely

“I will be honest, I can’t recall much of my last nine holes. I kept battling as was hoping it might only be a random bug and managed to make a few birdies on the front nine but was struggling to walk and was constantly out of breath.

I will be honest, I can’t recall much of my last nine holes.” – Luke Joy

“I was doing alright considering how I was feeling before basically falling over on my final [hole] and smothering my tee shot into a bush and settled for a triple bogey up the last.”

Joy told Golf Digest Middle East Thursday lunchtime that it had been a “challenging 24 hours” during which he had been “sick all night and struggling to keep anything down”. However, the Yas Links-attached Dorset pro said he “feels better today and my joints don’t feel like there on fire [anymore}.

He’s hopeful of coming right to tee it up in the final leg of the MENA Tour’s South African swing, The Roar at Waterkloof Golf Club in Pretoria from Tuesday.

“I really hope I can get back to normal for next week. I have done some research and asked a few of the guys playing and looks like my body has taken a weird reaction to the altitude here in Jo’burg, which even I’m shocked about.

“I have never had this issue before but then haven’t spent all that much time in Jo’burg or at altitude for a long period of time. It was a pretty hilly course this week so I’m really hoping I can start to feel better as it has been a pretty shit 24 hours.”

The post Joy unveils ‘weird’ mystery illness after missing Jo’Burg City Masters cut appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Elson carded an equal best of the day 67 Wednesday to come from two shots back to grasp the lead in the co-sanctioned Sunshine Big Easy Tour-MENA Tour event at -9, a shot clear of South Africa’s Jaco Prinsloo.

Joy, meanwhile, was unable to recover from his opening two-over 74, going backwards with a second round 76 to miss the cut but four shots. That means the inconsistent OOM leader, through seven events of the MENA Tour season, is in danger of surrendering his lead atop the points standings, particularly if Elson can kick on to victory at Country Club Johannesburg Thursday.

Golf is a numbers game and those can be tricky when you’re playing at altitude where the ball flies further. Not that Elson, who mixed five birdies and an eagle with two bogeys in his second round, seems to be struggling.

“I played really solidly the past two days. I’m really confident with my iron-game. I got some really good yardages today and managed to hit some pretty close. It’s just a question of getting it in on the green, you know,” said Elson who finished runner-up at April’s Ras Al Khaimah Classic.

“The main thing is just working out the altitude,” he said of what he needs to work on going forward.

“You know, coming from the UK, the ball is flying, I would say, five percent further in the winter time here. I have been to Jo’burg before in the summer time but it was about 10 percent further. So I have got a little conversion thing in my bag that’s been helping me out and it’s been working very well.”

South African Maritz Wessels fired a 67 to climb into solo third as overnight leader Jacquin Hess slipped into a three-way tie for 13th on -4 despite closing his second round 74 with an eagle at the par-5 18th.

England’s Sam Hobday led the amateur division into the final round on +2 as overnight leader Tiago Lobo (Brazil) endured a tough second round, carding a 78 to finish on seven over, leaving himself with a mountain to climb in Thursday’s final round.

The post Elson eyes MENA Tour OOM lead as Joy’s glum Jo’burg City Masters ends prematurely appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Luke Joy will again have overcome a frustrating start if he is to maintain his buffer atop the MENA Tour order of merit standings.

The 29-year-old Abu Dhabi-based Englishman signed for a 74 to share 62nd place after the  opening round of the Jo’burg City Masters Tuesday. Joy was eight shots adrift of leader Jacquin Hess after the South African traded eight birdies and two bogeys in his pace-setting 66.

Hess was a shot clear of countryman Sean Bradley (67) overnight while four more South Africans and three Englishmen shared fourth place at -4 in the Big Easy Tour event which is co-sanctioned by the MENA Tour. Among the latter was Jamie Elson who is second in the MENA Tour points standings – 1715 points adrift of Joy through seven events – and will be hoping to kick on from his encouraging 68.

Joy moved to the top of the MENA Tour money list following this third place finish at last week’s South to East Challenge, the first of the MENA Tour’s three-tournament South Africa swing.

RELATED: Luke thinks long term Joy ahead of Jo’burg City Masters

But the Yas Links-attached pro had to overcome another two-over par opening round in Benoni and that followed a weekend off the Zambia Open on the higher level Sunshine Tour. Earlier in the season he sandwiched two second placings either side of another missed cut.

Joy’s putting had been the problem heading into this week’s 54-holer at Country Club Johannesburg but on Tuesday an uncooperative driver was the cause of the Dorset man’s angst on a firm and fast Woodmead course.

“I actually really like the course this week…and if you hit the fairways you have some good opportunities to attack some very firm and crusty greens,” Joy said in his latest blog post.

“Unfortunately today I couldn’t find a fairway to save my life and had little to no hope of hitting [it] close out of the rough. I had to settle for 30-50 foot putts all day long and with a few three putts, all I could manage was 74 (+2).

“It was a poor performance and my consistently inconsistent performances at the moment are frustrating but a work in progress. I’ve got to stay positive with it but my scores at the moment are very dependent on how my putting is on the course.

“I’m hoping to improve tomorrow [Wednesday] and find some fairways. I have a very early start so hopefully the course will set up a little softer so I can hit some close and make some birdies to get back on track.”

Meanwhile, South to East Challenge winner Breyten Meyer was well-placed after an opening 69 Tuesday, a shot clear of reigning Jo’Burg City Masters and MENA Tour order of merit champion Craig Hinton.

Dubai-based Brazilian Tiago Lobo carded a one-over 73 to lead the amateur standings by three shots from South African Evance Vukeya (76).

The post Different day, same old story for Joy at Jo’burg City Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Quite which Luke Joy will turn up at this week’s Jo’burg City Masters is anyone’s guess. The 29-year-old Englishman’s form leading into the second event of the MENA Tour’s three-tournament South African swing has been confounding in its consistent inconsistency.

Sandwiched either side of a missed cut at the Mohammedia Open in Morocco in late March were creditable runner-up finishes at the Casablanca Open and the Mountain Creek Open in Thailand. More recently the Abu Dhabi-based Dorset pro backed up another unwanted weekend off at the Sunshine Tour’s Zambia Open with a third place finish at last week’s South to East Challenge in Benoni.

Joy still wasn’t entirely happy with his game at Ebotse Links, especially not the opening 74 he signed for in the co-sanctioned MENA Tour-Big Easy Tour (the feeder circuit to the Sunshine Tour) event. But closing rounds of 69-68 hinted that recent remedial work with the putter is beginning to pay off.

“Golf is very much about momentum and in Zambia and the start of SA there was none. But the final two rounds last week I holed a few putts to save par and then made a few putts for birdie that kept me going. It was by no means a flawless performance, just well managed,” said Joy who is navigating his fourth MENA Tour season and his sixth year as a pro in total.

“You never show up to lose but some weeks are more realistic than others. Last week I got a lot out of the final two rounds and I’ve done some good work over the weekend so the game is feeling better…the game is close.”

Regardless of what transpires over the 54-holes at Country Club Johannesburg from Tuesday, Joy is at least making progress in his goal to crack the European Tour. He’s improved his Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) 916 slots to 632^nd place since the end of 2014 and is in the mix to capture European Tour and perhaps even a PGA Tour start courtesy of his elevated MENA Tour ranking come seasons end.

Joy already has September’s KLM Open to look forward to courtesy of his second place on last season’s MENA Tour moneylist. It will be a second European Tour start after he was unfortunately DQed from February’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

“I’m looking forward to the KLM Open and just trying to keep improving and moving in the right direction. You never know what can happen in golf, a few good weeks can change your life and take you from struggling to comfortable,” Joy told Golf Digest Middle East.

“The goal is to play on the European Tour and then have the opportunity to play the PGA Tour as I loved my time in the United States from my college days at Drake University.

“I have a three-year plan working with my coach Matt Parker [formerly at Jumeirah Golf Estates] and his team at Prevail Golf. We have a short term and long term goals that I’m working towards to get my world ranking down. I have dropped some 1000 spots in nine months so we’re getting there…slow and steady wins the race.”

Joy is eyeing European Tour Q-School at the end of the year. Before then he would love to end a string of frustrating second place finishes which have followed his two MENA Tour wins – the Dubai Creek Open and ASCOPR Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open at Saadiyat Beach GC, both achieved in 2014.

Along with his current inconsistent form, Joy is also grappling with ever changing course and weather conditions from Morocco, to “hot and humid” Thailand and now Africa. The latest challenge is the thin air of Jo’burg where the golf ball “flies forever”.

An eight iron that normally travels 162 yards for Joy is suddenly going 175 yards at altitude which is a “slight adjustment that gets greater the longer the club”.

In the end though, it all comes down to forgetting some “pretty woeful” putting of late and getting the ball into the hole.

“I have gone back to some drills using Visio putting templates which has helped a lot. It gives you some great feedback and has helped with my confidence seeing the ball go in again. There was little difference in the performance of the two [Zambia and Benoni], I just managed my game better and holed some putts.”

Joy will join a strong 105-player field headlined by last week’s winner, Breyten Meyer, and fellow South African Etienne Bond who currently leads the Big Easy Tour moneylist. Among six other MENA Tour winners playing is defending champion Craig Hinton.

Hinton shot a final round 68 to win the title by two shots over South Africa’s N.J. Arnoldi last year, becoming the first MENA Tour player to taste success on South African shores.

Brazil’s Dubai-based Tiago Lobo, currently second in the amateur order of merit (OOM) standings, just three points shy of Switzerland’s Michael Harradine, will be the player to watch in the amateur division that has attracted six entries including Oman’s Sami Keating and India’s Arkesh Bhatia.

The Jo’burg City Masters is being played on the Woodmead course, one of the two 18-hole layouts at the Country Club Johannesburg.

The post Luke thinks long term Joy ahead of Jo’burg City Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The dates and venues for the three tournaments, co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Big Easy Tour, have just been released.

Following this week’s US$50,000 Pattana Golf Championship, the tour’s first 72 hole event at Pattana GC and Resort, a 135 minute drive south-east of Bangkok, the South African swing will start at the South to East Challenge in Benoni.

The $26,000, 54-holer will run June 6-8 at Ebotse Links (pictured above), described as the only “inland links“ course in South Africa. South African Bryandrew Roelofsz is the defending champion.

The swing then moves to the Country Club Johannesburg for the Jo’burg City Masters. Reigning MENA Tour order-of-merit champion, Englishman Craig Hinton, will be out to defend his title at the June 13-15 event which carries a purse of $28,000.

Country Club Johannesburg

“The Roar” rounds out the South African swing. Also a $28,000 event, the 54-hole tournament returns to Waterkloof Golf Club in Pretoria where Riekus Nortje (RSA) carded rounds of 65-68-70 to win last June on -13.

Waterkloof GC in the capital Pretoria. Images courtesy Sunshine Big Easy Tour

The Sunshine Big Easy Tour is the Sunshine Tour’s development circuit.

The post MENA Tour unveils <br> South African <br> swing tournaments appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.