By Kent Gray
The MENA Tour deliberately took 16 months between the end of its seventh season in late 2017 and the start of its eight edition in February 2019 to redesign the regional developmental circuit. A further refinement was the decision to condense the current 2020 schedule into essentially three months between late January and mid-April, allowing members the chance to kick-start their year in the Middle East’s best weather before spreading their wings around the world. The MENA Tour suddenly fitted perfectly into golf’s global landscape – until the world suddenly wasn’t the same courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With travel around the G.C.C becoming increasingly challenging, the MENA Tour’s leadership took the decision on March 5 to postpone the final six events of the 11-tournament season until October-November, reintroducing a mid-summer break as was previously the case. Only time will tell what professional golf, much less global sport, will look like come late 2020 and beyond but two things are certain; the MENA Tour deserves praise for acting so decisively and continues to work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a smooth resumption when things get back to the new normal, whenever that is. In the meantime, here’s five mid-season takeaways from the 9th edition of the MENA Tour by Arena.

1) Langley leads
What’s $704 between professional golfers? For David Langley (pictured above), it’s a potentially priceless sum. The 25-year-old Englishmen went into the enforced break atop the Order of Merit (OOM) standings, edging compatriot David Hague to a start in the European Tour’s €2.5 million Trophee Hassan II as a result. At the time of press, the June 4-7 stop in Morocco wasn’t among those postponed by the European Tour meaning Langley, the 2017 Open Championship silver medallist (for low amateur honours), has a shot at quickly adding to the $25,499 he’s banked in his five MENA Tour starts this far. The Stokenchurch pro will take plenty of confidence (if not recent form) to wherever his golf travel takes him next after capturing the season-opening Journey to Jordan 1 Championship before finishing 11th and runner-up in Egypt and Oman respectively. Langley then did just enough to hold off Hague for the Morocco spot after Hague won the Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open before finishing 33rd to Langley’s 38th in the Journey to Jordan 2 Championship, the final event before the postponement. $704? A huge sum in the mini-tour scheme of things.

Bailey Gill teed it up on the European Tour courtesy of the MENA Tour. Photo by Joy Chakravarty

2) Gill (just) sneaks in
The MENA Tour’s remit is to provide fledging professionals opportunities at the next level. Unlike David Langley whose aforementioned, European Tour start in Rabat is up in the air, countryman Bailey Gill at least got to play the Oman Open before the coronavirus shut down golf worldwide, the reward for winning the MENA Tour’s Ghala Open in Oman a week earlier. Rounds of 77-70 meant the 22-year-old English lefty missed the cut at Al Mouj Golf but the big-time experience was no doubt priceless. Gill will resume the MENA Tour in 6th place on the OOM.

Arjun Gupta has ground to make up on amateur oom leader Shergo Al Kurdi. Photo by Joy Chakravarty

3) Al Kurdi has company
After Josh Hill’s breakout 2019 campaign including worldwide fame after winning the Al Ain Open, Shergo Al Kurdi has dominated amateur headlines this season. The Jordanian 16-year-old become the first amateur from the G.C.C. to earn Official World Golf Ranking points after his gusty runner-up finish to Langley at the J2J#1 Championship in late January, a huge step towards realising his 2024 Olympic Games dream. But watch for Arjun Gupta (pictured No.3) in the second half of the season. The Dubai-based Indian is second to Al Kurdi in the amateur OOM and will be buoyed by his 4th placing at the Ghala Open. Gupta’s fellow Els Club Dubai range-rat, Toby Bishop, is another cursing the coronavirus enforced pause after a rich run of domestic form. Bishop, 7th in the MENA Tour amateur OOM, signed for a course record 62 en-route to winning the EGF’s Saadiyat Beach Open before capturing The Els Alliance and then leading the Trump Dubai Open before COVID-19 trumped everything.

George Groves, the WR4GD No.1, in action at the DP World Tour Championship, where he lifted the EDGA Dubai finale trophy last November. Photo by Joy Chakravarty

4) Great determination
Sadly lost in these tumultuous times was the MENA Tour’s trailblazing agreement with the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA). It was set to showcase four players with an official World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) and a handicap of 4.4 or less at the Ras Al Khaimah Open (Tower Links G.C.), the Northern Emirates Open (Al Hamra G.C.) and the Al Ain Classic. Those events were among the six postponed. Here’s hoping the EDGA players are among those on the tee when the MENA Tour resumes.

Englishman David Hague is second behind Langley in the OOM and eyeing the Arena Championship at Ayla Golf Club, the MENA Tour’s destination partner in Aqaba, Jordan. Photo by Joy Chakravarty

5) Smooth resumption
A doff of our cap to the administrators worldwide trying to piece professional golf back together again in these extremely uncertain times. The cryptic scheduling puzzle is no less challenging for the MENA Tour who had sourced a series of European, Asian, Challenge and Alps Tour starts for its best 2020 performers, invites on tours now in a state of flux themselves. Those are complications for another day though. For now, the great news is a determination to get the MENA Tour by Arena back on its feet as quickly and as safely as possible and heading towards the season-ending $100,000 Arena Championship at Ayla Golf Club, the circuit’s Aqaba destination partner. “We are in touch with the members and updating them on a regular basis. The logistics are being tied up right now. We are looking at the window of October-November. The Tour is talking to the venue partners and will release the dates as soon as possible,” the tour said in a statement. A resumption, in any shape or form, will be a grand statement of intent.

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But the second-year pro, who carded a four-under 68 at Ayla Golf Club on Tuesday for a one-shot lead after the opening round of the $75,000 event, knows his time will come as long as he’s patient. The 24-year-old Englishman, who joined the paid ranks in late 2018 after a decorated amateur career, is certainly trending towards victory. He played three Challenge Tour events in South Africa on invites before returning to the MENA Tour and made the cut in all three, highlighted by a T-7 in Cape Town that has him 13th overall on Europe’s second-tier tour.

“It would be nice to get playing status on Challenge Tour. Obviously, I want to win [as well] and getting it on the MENA Tour would be great, but these are things you cannot rush,” said Waite who will take a one-shot buffer into Tuesday’s second round over playing partner Benjamin David and Curtis Knipes (both England) and Scotland’s Ryan Lumsden.

“I look at Hague, Langley and Bailey [Gill] and they have all gone and won events in their first few weeks as a pro and here I am, have been a pro for more than a year and still haven’t got my first win.

“I can get down upon myself, or I can keep doing the right things and stay patient knowing that my week will come.”

Waite, a former European Amateur Championship runner-up and semi-finalist at The Amateur Championship, frustratingly three-putted his final hole for the only bogey in a round punctuated by five birdies.

The Bristol lad has taken a different tact this week after finished tied 37th in the Journey to Jordan #2 last year before securing his MENA Tour card by finishing 10th in Qualifying School B in January. It helped being spurred on by playing partners David and Tom Sloman who shot a two-under-par 70 to be tied fifth alongside Sweden’s Ake Nilsson. Pavan Sagoo, Jamie Rutherford, Luke Joy and Filip Lundell, winner of Q-School B at the same venue, were tied seventh at one-under-par 71.

“I have not played too well around here, so I had a slightly different mindset this week to go and shoot the best that I possibly can and I am lucky I played with good guys – David and Sloman – and they played well as well,” said Waite.

“I had a decent start today, went a bit quiet in the middle and kept playing well on the back nine. I hit two good shots into the 18th but ended up with a bogey. It’s just one of those things, and I have got to take the positives from this. I was five-under-par through 17 and shot a 68 which was a good round.”

The Felton Golf Club member has started working with Liam James in Belfry as his coach and his friend Will Donald as a mental coach.

“I have come out this year with a better mental frame and probably better technically. I did not have any status and just played on invites in 2019. But it was a slow year and I did not get going. I have worked on all departments of the game and very much looking forward to what 2020 has in store.”

In the race between David Langley and David Hague to secure the Trophee Hassan II start on the European Tour as the leader of the Journey to Jordan Order of Merit at the halfway stage of the 2020 MENA Tour season, Hague was slightly ahead of his rival, even though both players had a start to forget. Hague opened with a 75 and Langley shot 77.

India’s Arjun Gupta was the best-placed amateur in the field, tied 20th after a round of two-over 74.

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By Kent Gray
Forget Goliath – this is a battle between David and David.

More accurately, it’s a battle within the battle at this week’s $75,000 Journey to Jordan #2 Championship back at Ayla Golf Club in Jordan, the MENA Tour by Arena’s destination partner.

The leader of the overall Order of Merit after the 54-holer in Aqaba, which marks the official halfway stage of the regional circuit’s regular season, earns a precious invite to the Trophee Hassan II from June 4-7. Furthermore, either of the Davids, Langley and Hague, will win free accommodation at the European Tour event’s official hotel in Morocco, nothing to be sneezed at when you are trying to make your way in the expensive world of professional golf.

Langley has the advantage heading into Monday’s opening round – just. The 25-year-old Marlow man leads the Journey to Jordan OOM (not to be confused with the name of this week’s tournament name) but only by $784 from Hague. Langely also has special memories of Ayla G.C. having captured the season-opening Journey to Jordan #1 Championship at the Greg Norman-designed layout.

“Absolutely. The spot in Morocco is on my mind and if someone else in my situation says they are not thinking about it, they’d probably be lying,” said Langley.

“But it is not something that is going to control my shots during the tournament. It is something you think outside of it. I will be focused on each shot that I hit when I play the tournament.

“I have very happy memories of this golf course, and obviously, having played it quite a few times, I am very familiar with it. I drove the ball very well and made almost every putt from inside 10 feet when I won the Journey to Jordan #1, and I will have to do pretty much the same again this week.”

The equation for Hague, meanwhile, is simple. With $400 assured for the last-placed player this week, the Yorkshireman will have to finish inside a two-way tie for the 12th place or better to have any chance of overtaking Langley.

David Hague.

Hague does have the advantage of momentum after winning last week’s Bahrain Open while Langley struggled with a final round 79. It was almost a case of reverse fortunes; when Langley won the season opener, Hague started his professional career with rounds of 81-77 to uncomfortably miss the cut.

“I won’t say Morocco is my top priority right now. I am pretty good at taking every competition as it comes. It’s just a consequence of playing well and that’s what I’d be focused on this week,” Hague said.

“I did not have a great start to my professional career here, but I am looking forward to competing on this course. I think I was too aggressive here the last time and threw away a few shots through careless mistakes. That’s something I want to avoid.”

Hague, who turned pro after MENA Tour by Arena Qualifying School at the same venue, has not touched his clubs after playing the Pro-Am in Bahrain a day after his victory.

“I got into Aqaba only last night after facing a few travel issues and today was the first day I actually practiced. It’s been a crazy couple of days with so many messages from friends and people I know. I am so looking forward to going back home next week, but I have a job to do before that.”

Fittingly, Langley and Hague have been paired together for the first two rounds and start their campaigns on Monday at 9.20am local time (11.20am UAE time).

The post Langley and Hague race for Trophee Hassan II start as Journey to Jordan returns to Aqaba appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Now, four events into life in the paid ranks and the 24-year-old Englishman is celebrating his maiden victory after edging former European Tour player Victor Riu by a stroke at the $75,000 Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open.

“This is amazing and very satisfying,” said the Malton and Norton Golf Club member who carded a one-under 71 in difficult conditions in Riffa to win with a nine-under, 207 total.

“I have been thinking of turning professional for more than a year now and always had my doubts about it. I felt I was on a good run when I played the MENA Tour Qualifying School, and thought it was a good time to make the decision. This win definitely validates it.”

After an inauspicious start to his pro career when rounds of 81-77 saw him miss the cut at the season-opening Journey to Jordan #1 Championship, Hague has shown the class that saw him represent Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup and rise to as high as 76th in the amateur world rankings. He was runner-up to Frenchman Sébastien Gros at the NEWGIZA Open in Cairo and 11th at last week’s Ghala Open. The $13,500 cheque for winning in Bahrain means he is just $784 behind countryman David Langley in the season-long Journey to Jordan Order-of-Merit race which rewards the circuit’s top players with European and Asian Tour starts.

Chris Garrity, General Manager of Royal Golf Club, with David Hague and low amateur Saud Al Sharif.

Hague started the final round with a one-stroke lead but was trailing at the turn after making a double bogey on the 7th, allowing Scot Ryan Lumsden to surging ahead courtesy of an eagle on the par-5 ninth hole.

But Hague made three birdies on the back nine as against a solitary bogey on the 12th hole, including a crucial one on the par-4 15th hole, which was playing very tough into the headwind. It was a two-shot swing against both Lumsden and Riu, his closest rivals, who dropped shots on the same hole.

“I drove consistently well this whole week and that really was the key to my winning. I struggled with my putter from inside six feet and made several three-putts – something I need to work on.

“When I was trailing at the turn, I knew I needed to be patient because the back nine of this golf course has been pretty good to me. And yes, that birdie on the 15th was a key moment for me.”

Lumsden (71) and Callum Fyfe (70) were tied third at -7 alongside England’s Ben Hutchinson (67) and Sweden’s Henric Sturehed (68) – the two best cards on a day when players had to battle through occasional drizzle and steady high wind at the Colin Montgomerie-designed Royal Golf Club.

Saud Al Sharif.

Saud Al Sharif, a member of the Saudi National Team and the host club, could not replicate the stunning performance from the second round and slipped down the leaderboard with an 81 in his first experience of playing in the leading group of a professional event. However, his two-over-par total was still good enough to win him the Low Amateur of the Tournament prize.

“It was a tough day on the golf course, but I wanted to do better than what I did,” said the 19-year-old.

“However, this is my first time in a situation like this and I am sure I have learned a lot on how to handle things in the future. This experience will make me a better player,”.

The MENA Tour travels to Aqaba, Jordan, for the $75,000 Journey to Jordan #2 next week.

The post Englishman David Hague captures Bahrain Open in just his fourth pro start appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Max Kramer, Joel Girrbach and David Hague share the opening-round lead at the MENA Tour’s $75,000 Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open and equally fascinating background stories as topsy-turvy as their respective 66s on Monday.

Kramer perhaps edges the story behind the top of the leaderboard story stakes after being diagnosed with an arrhythmic heart and being reduced to just four EuroPro Tour starts last year.

Girrbach is also making a comeback after losing his European Tour card last season following a disappointing run to 229th place in the Race to Dubai. His opening gambit in Riffa was even more remarkable as it was his first competitive round in three months and included successive bogeys at the 7th and 8th holes to drop back to even par before he played his final 10 holes in six-under.

Hague, meanwhile, only turned pro of the MENA Tour by Arena Q-School and has made another early statement of intent after recently finishing runner-up at the NEWGIZA Open in Cairo. His was an even better recovery than Girrbach’s; one-over-par after eight holes Hague rattled off five birdies and a spectacular holed-out eagle from a fairway bunker on the 17th.

Given he is simply happy to be back playing after last year’s health scare, Kramer was doubly delighted with his start to the regional development circuit’s fourth event of 2020.

“I had played a few events at the start of 2019, but I wasn’t feeling very good. I went to the doctor and they found out I had arrhythmia of heart,” said the Dusseldorf-based 36-year-old, a former German national amateur team-mate of two-time major champion Martin Kaymer.

“It was very scary when we found out because this is no age to get a heart condition. However, after three months of complete rest, I am much better.

“Today was an amazing round for me. I was seven-under-par through the first 10 holes with an eagle on the third and on the par-4 10th. I played the last eight in one-over, but I am so happy with this round. Especially with what happened last year, and also the way I played last week in Oman where I shot an 11-over par round and was hitting the ball over the place.”

Max, the BraveHeart!
Germany’s Max Kramer played just 4 events on @PGAEuroProTour before he was diagnosed with an arrhythmic heart.
After 3 months of forced rest, Kramer, once a teammate of @MKaymer59, is back playing golf.
On Monday, he shot a 66 to lead Royal GC Bahrain Open. pic.twitter.com/AaO7xlsCbu

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) February 24, 2020

Girrbach, who graduated to the European Tour last season, took nearly three months off from competitive golf to get his game back in shape after his Race to Dubai disappointment, including a long trip to South Africa to work with his coach, Dougie Wood.

“I haven’t played a competitive round after missing out at the second stage of the European Tour Qualifying School. It was a disappointing season and I put in a lot of work in my technique. This is the first competing round for me to see where my game is and I am very pleased,” said Girrbach.

Joel Girrbach

“I felt ready after the winter work and I was looking for tournaments to play. With my category on the Challenge Tour, I will only be able to play events from May. So, I asked a few friends and they all highly recommended the MENA Tour. I asked for an invite and here I am.

“I made a couple of mistakes towards the end of my front nine and I just tried to be aggressive after that. I drove the green on the par-4 10th, and nearly drove the green on the par-4 11th. Those two birdies were a good start to the back nine and I just continued from there.”

The consistent Hague was relishing a fast start, having opened with a 72 in finishing second at NEWGIZA Open and a 69 in tied 10th place at Ghala Open last week.

“I drove it really well all day and kept it in play even though I did not start that well. Made two three-putts from the fringe and was one-over-par after eight. I just told myself to remain patient and the birdies would come, and that’s exactly what happened,” said Hague.

“The eagle on 17th was nice towards the end of the round. I hit it into the right bunker and had 142 yards from there. Hit a good shot and it took a couple of bounces and went in.”

Frenchman Antoine Schwartz was alone in fourth place at five-under-par 67, while there was a group of six players at 68 – Scotsman Scott Henry, the Irish duo of Paul McBride and Robin Dawson, Sweden’s Mathias Weiderman and the English pair of Tom Combe and Mitch Waite.

Saudi Arabia’s Bahrain-based Saud Al Sharif, a member of Royal Golf Club, was the leading amateur at one-under-par 71.

Day 1 has come to a close in the @royalgolfclub Bahrain Open. These are the leading scores:

66 – @joelgirrbach, @dhague96, Max Kramer
67 – Antoine Schwartz
6 players tied at 68

Scores here:https://t.co/AvIGzUhuKb pic.twitter.com/TiMmjZ8Q8K

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) February 24, 2020

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