The 36-year-old South African captured the biggest win of his eight years in the region Sunday when he beat former UAE PGA chief executive Steven Munro 4&3 in the final of the tour’s matchplay championship at The Els Club.

Smith took advantage of some unlucky breaks for Munro to take the final by the scruff of the neck at 3up by the turn and never relinquished his stranglehold, all after edging David Laing 1up in an altogether more intense semifinal earlier on Sunday.

The win earned the Address Montgomery Dubai tournament co-ordinator 300 points and saw him close the gap on UAE PGA Order of Merit (OOM) leader Stefan Wears-Taylor (Al Zorah) to 80 points ahead of the season-deciding UAE PGA (Strokeplay) Championship at Arabian Ranches on April 30-May 1. It means Smith has given himself a shot at overhauling Wears-Taylor, the UAE PGA Championship’s defending champion, for the circuit’s year-long title.

“It’s was a big win, a great day and now we’ve got the two-day [36-hole] tour championship next week so hopefully I might be able to do the double,” said Smith.

“That would be great and I’m captaining the Dubai Trophy team so it’s quite nice to go there in some form. It’s going to be tough again with all those youngsters coming through… [including runaway EGF OOM leader] Josh Hill…amazing!”

The UAE PGA Matchplay semi finalists (L to R) Steven Munro, Mike Bolt, Ryan Smith and David Laing.

Smith didn’t know much about Hill when they met him in a foursomes match at last year’s Dubai Trophy. But the now 14-year-old teen’s magical run of form, including course records at Trump and The Track Meydan Golf and a runaway victory in the Faldo Series Middle East Championship, has turned Hill into the hottest golfer in the land.

Related: Hill sets Track course record, waltzes to sensational sixth EGF title

“I remember playing him and Arjun [Gupta] in a foursomes match and thinking we can’t get beaten by two 12 year olds. Luckily we won but the juniors are just incredible now, fearless.”

Smith thought his matchplay run was over with Laing playing nicely in their semifinal as he ‘scrapped for pars”. But a couple of late birdies got Smith to the 18th all square and he pounced when Laing found a tough desert lie on the right of the closing hole and proceeded to thin his approach through the back, and then thin his chip shot.

Munro progressed to the final with a 2&1 victory of Mike Bolt (Trump Dubai).

Meanwhile, Shane Peacock recently claimed his his maiden UAE PGA victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates with a fine score of 71.

Peacock, right, receives the spoils from UAE PGA CEO Luke Plumb.

The post Captain Smith captures UAE PGA Matchplay title, eyes ‘tough’ Dubai Trophy appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Dubai-based Scottish teaching professional David Laing captured his maiden UAE PGA Tour title on Tuesday and couldn’t have timed the feat any better.

With a three-under 69 at Al Hamra G.C., the Address Montgomerie Dubai academy instructor scored himself a start in the European Challenge Tour’s penultimate event of 2017, the Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge from Oct. 25-28.

Related: Muscat event added to 2018 European Tour schedule as Desert Swing split in two

Laing won the dual UAE PGA Order-of-Merit (OOM) event-RAK Golf Challenge qualifier by two strokes from Jumeirah Golf Estates’ (JGE) Gavin Sutherland, Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Cennydd Mills and Mikeal Gartner (CV Sports Group) who shared second place with 71s.

Mills earned the RAK Golf Challenge spot last year and went on to finish 100th in the 105-strong field with rounds of 77-74. Englishman Jordan Smith was eventually crowned RAK champion to seal the Challenge Tour OOM title and has gone on to win his maiden European Tour title, the Porche European Open in July, to be a lock for next month’s Race to Dubai decider, the DP World Tour Championship at JGE.

Related: Jordan Smith tries his hand at ‘PaddleGolf’ ahead of 2017 RAK Golf Challenge

Laing, who hails from Craigielaw Golf Club, one of a collection of gems on Scotland’s “Golf Coast” of East Lothian, will be hoping to better Mills’ effort by making the cut at Al Hamra later this month.

Before then he has the UAE PGA Tour’s next event to look forward to, the Dubai Creek UAE PGA Pro-Am next Monday. Amateurs have until tomorrow to enter the tour’s answer to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Related: It’s Dubai’s answer to the Alfred Dunhill Links and you can play!

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