By Kent Gray
Henric Sturehed has been knocking on victory’s door for weeks and when he finally burst through Thursday, the view had exciting European, Asian and Sunshine Tour views.

The 27-year-old Swede waltz to a nine-stroke victory in the MENA Tour Championship at Al Zorah with a closing 69 to collect the circuit’s flagship title and the season’s richest cheque courtesy of an impressive -21 total.

The $18,000 took his season’s earnings to exactly two greenbacks over $30,000 and saw Sturehed leap-frog five places up to second in the order-of-merit behind champion Jamie Elson.

He’d started the working week almost certain of a place in the final stage of Sunshine Tour Q-School in South African and ended it with much more than a honking great pay cheque.

As well as a full card on the South African tour, Sturehed is now contemplating starts in January’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic and a second European Tour event, next September’s KLM Open at the Dutch. He also has a full Asian Development Tour card for 2018 but mightn’t need it – there’s also a free pass to the final stage of Asian Tour Q-School to consider.

“I’m absolutely delighted with my first win on the MENA Tour,” said Sturehed who became the the fourth Swede to win a MENA Tour event after Per Barth, Christofer Blomstrand and Fredrik From.

“I felt really comfortable out there, like I was in control of my game. It was my first season on the MENA Tour and I really enjoyed the whole experience. There are many good players out there and it was fun competing with them. I have made many new good friends and hope to return next year.”

Jake Shepherd, a two-time winner on the tour, went bogey-free in a closing six-under 66 to finish second at Al Zorah on -12, two clear of fellow Englishman Andrew Marshall and Adam Sagar.

Elson returned a level-par 72 to join fellow Englishmen Joe Heraty and Luke Joy in a three-way tie for fifth on -9, 279 , good enough for him to seal the prestigious Order of Merit title ahead of Sturehed.

As well as season earnings of $32,695, Elson becomes the first MENA Tour player to win a PGA Tour start at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational at Colonial C.C. in May after also teeing it up in the Desert Classic and the European Tour’s Trophee Hassan II in Morocco in April. The 36-year-old Englishman also has all the Sunshine, and full and developmental Asian Tour privileges as Sturehed to ponder.

In the final wash-up in Ajman, you had to feel for Luke Joy whose frustrating season – hampered by a bout of malaria contracted during the MENA Tour’s South African swing – ended in more disappointment.

By the equivalent of a measly $121, he dropped to third in the OOM which denies the Yas Links-attached Englishman and return to the KLM Open. Here’s hoping he makes hay at the Desert Classic after being DQ’d for innocently signing an incorrect score card last January. He also has full Sunshine Tour status for 2018 although the illness in Pretoria may make a Asian Development Tour pass more appealing.

Todd Clements, meanwhile, signed for a 68 to win the amateur division on -5 283 . It was the English Amateur Champion’s sixth successive title and saw him crowned runaway amateur OOM champion from Sam Hobday.

Final MENA Tour Championship scores 

Final Pro OOM standings

Final Amateur OOM standings

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Two-back overnight, Sturehed rattled off eight birdies and a chip-in eagle to move to -13 at the season-decider in Ajman and open up a healthy five stroke lead over Englishman Andrew Marshall (66).

The season-long title race is suddenly a lot more spicy after Joy signed for a 69 to move from a share of 9th overnight into a share of 5th with Slovenia’s Tim Gornik and Swede Fredrik From, the latter an outside chance at the order-of-merit (OOM) title.

Joy is now just two shots behind Jamie Elson after the overnight leader and OOM pole-sitter carded a one-under 71 to fall into a share of third at -7 with Canadian Lindsay Renolds.

Related: Who needs to do what to win the MENA Tour

With 36-holes remaining, the equation is simple for Joy. If he goes on to win, the MENA Tour title, three European Tour starts, an invite to the PGA Tour’s Dean & Deluca Invitational, a Sunshine Tour card and a place in final qualifying for the Asian Tour is his. If Joy finishes second or third, Elson would need to finish no better than 4th or 6th respectively while Joy would still need a top three finish if Elson slips outside the top 10.

Sturehed backed up his opening 68 with a nine-under second round that included a chip-in eagle three on the 4th after his six-iron from 218 yards finished just off the green, a solitary bogey at the 8th before three successive birdies to finish.

“Conditions were a bit tougher today because of cross winds, but I had a good, solid day,” said the 27-year-old Swede.

“You never know tomorrow holds as there are many good players in the field and anything can happen. I need to stick to my game plan and keep the feel-good vibes going.”

Defending champion Tyler Hogarty, (South Africa) tied for second overnight, fell into a tie for 17th after returning a 77 while England’s Jake Shepherd kept himself in the frame for a strong finish, taking a share of 8th after posting a 69.

The English duo of Zane Scotland and Lee Corfield, who between them share 14 MENA Tour titles, are T-22 on +1 while Craig Hinton, the winner of the 2016 Order of Merit title, occupied tT-40 on +6, 150.

Taylor Carter returned a 69 to join fellow Englishman Sam Hobday at the top of the amateur division on -2 as overnight joint leader Todd Clements slipped to +1 after a 76.

Click here for full MENA Tour Championship scores

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Heraty Jnr opened the event with a then MENA Tour record equalling 62 and closed it with the circuit’s then lowest final round score of 65 to offer his ill idol the ultimate pick me up.

“It was a tough week, but everybody was pretty supportive which kind of calmed me down. I wanted to win it for him and that gave me extra strength, making the win very, very special,” said 26-year-old Englishman.

Fast-forward 12 months and Heraty is back at the scene of his maiden and thus far sole MENA Tour win for the penultimate event of the development Pro-Am season. Thankfully the Heraty men are in a better space too.

“My dad is doing well now and it feels great to come back to the venue of my first win on the tour.”

After a injury-disrupted season, Heraty needs to play the Sahara Kuwait Championship to qualify for next week’s Tour Championship in Ajman – the top 50 pros and top 10 amateurs make the cut for Al Zorah proving they’ve played a minimum of seven events.

Related: Elson ends 14-year wait for second tour victory, on cusp of winning multiple European and PGA Tour starts

This will be Heraty’s seventh start (likewise for Welshman Toby Hunt) and he’s trending nicely having finished 11th and 3rd in his last two starts, the Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open and Jordan’s AYLA Championship. The season-best in Jordan could have been better to but for an opening 75 but he’s comfortably inside the top 50 at 33rd and will be looking to climb higher.

“Hopefully, I will be able to pick up where I left off last year, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” Heraty said.” I’m just hoping to play well again and see where that leaves me.”

After his victory in Jordan, Jamie Elson tops the order-of-merit race on 32,453 points and has destiny in his own hands with a 10,033 buffer to second placed Luke Joy and just the two events remaining. Conversely, fellow Englishman Joy (22, 420) and Swede Fredrik From (20, 311) know exactly what they need to do to drag themselves back into the OOM title race which promises the winner starts in the European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Maybank Championship in Malaysia, Morocco’s Hassan II Trophee and the PGA Tour’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational at Colonial CC. A full Sunshine Tour card for 2018 and exemption to the final stage of qualifying for the Asian Tour also await the MENA Tour champion which would give Elson options and he is also through to the second stage of European Tour Q-School.

Heraty with Wael Abdulrahman Al Welayti, member of Sahara Kuwait’s golf advisory committee.

The post Heraty back to defend Kuwait title in much happier circumstances appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 29-year-old Abu Dhabi-based Englishman’s forgettable 2017 suffered another “crushing” blow Friday when he failed to advance from the first stage of European Tour Q-School in Austria – by a single stroke.

Joy carded rounds of 68-72-68-66 at GolfClub Schloss Ebriechsdorf for a -3 aggregate of 274. Spaniard Tommy Cocha, who fired a stunning final round of eight under 61 to finish -15 and win by five strokes, headed a total of 22 qualifiers from the first stage, section B qualifier.

Unfortunately Joy, whose year has been derailed by a savage bout of malaria contracted during the MENA Tour’s South African swing, was so close and yet so far again. He’s now played Q-School five times but has never made it beyond the second stage.

The Yas Links-attached pro recovered from a “random” four-putt in the delayed third round with a pair of birdies to dip under par and get back to level for the tournament. He knew he needed to go low in the final round and although he managed a three under 66, Joy was left to rue  “lots of [missed] opportunities”.

“It’s caps off a dismal display of golf over the summer,“ Joy said in his refreshingly honest warts and all blog.

“Since having malaria I have not been able to come close to any sort of form that resembles the game I am used too. All the goals set forth for the year have come to a crashing halt and left me feeling absolutely deflated.

“You always want to try and stay as positive as you can but when you bring nothing to the table it gets increasingly difficult to remain upbeat and brimming with confidence which every golfer at this level requires to perform to the highest level.”

Joy said he could accept failure if he’d brought his “A/B game to the party” but had disappointingly been running at C/D level for months and that “takes it out of you more mentally than physically.”

He hopes to rebound quickly at the MENA Tour’s Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open at his home Yas Links from Monday. Fourth on the developmental circuit’s order of merit, Joy still has much to play for with the MENA Tour champion earning European Tour starts in Dubai, Malaysia and Morocco and for the first time a PGA Tour invite to the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. A full Sunshine Tour card for 2018 and exemption to the final stage of qualifying for the Asian Tour also await although Joy faces stiff competition from in-form Swede Fredrik From and countryman Jamie Elon who is through to the second stage of European Tour Q-School via a qualifier in Scotland a fortnight ago.

“I know I have the game and what it takes to get and stay at the highest level of golf,” said Joy. “It’s just so disappointing at this stage of the season that I’m going to have to wait another year to get the opportunity to play and perform at the level that I want to be.

“Many thanks for all your support this year,” Joy continued in his blog post to his loyal followers. “Sorry it’s been depressing reading but hopefully the form will turn for the good and [I can] start posting some numbers that I can be proud of again.”

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The new  ‘Jordan’s Ayla Golf Championship’ and the lofty elevation of Ajman’s Al Zorah Golf Club to season-ending Tour Championship status highlight the tour’s six-tournament “post summer” schedule unveiled Monday.

Dubai Creek, The Els Club Dubai, Yas Links (Abu Dhabi) and Sahara Golf & Country Club in Kuwait return, meaning the 7^th MENA Tour season will ultimately offer its pro-am members 16 tournaments (including Q-School) across six countries with a total purse of US$673,000 (AED 2.47 million). But it’s the official world ranking points and European, Asian and PGA Tour exemptions on offer, as much as the money, which is helping the developmental Middle East and North Africa circuit continually spread its wings.

MENA Tour chairman Mohamed Juma Buamaim is “delighted” to welcome Jordan to the fold as the MENA Tour chips away at getting an Arab golfer to the Olympic Games. It will be hosted at the new Greg Norman-designed Ayla Golf Resort, the country’s first all-grass 18-holer, in Aqaba.

“We are also excited to be making our first visit to Al Zohra for the season finale which, for the first time, will be a 72-hole affair,” Buamaim said. “Their [Al Zorah’s] support is a reflection on the strides being made by the tour in putting the region on the sporting map. I am sure our members will have a memorable experience playing on the Nicklaus-design layout.”

Al Zorah replaces Muscat Hills Golf & CC as host of the October 23-26 Tour Championship. Another Oman event, the Ghala Open, and the Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open at the now closed Al Badia GC in Dubai are also missing from last year’s summer schedule.

The Tour Championship will be contested by the top 50 professionals and 10 leading amateurs in what is shaping as a tight order of merit (OOM) points race.

Al Zorah GC in Ajman

Jamie Elson, who has played all nine main tour events thus far, currently leads the pro OOM from fellow Englishmen Luke Joy and veteran Andrew Marshall while Brazil’s Dubai-based Tiago Lobo sits atop the amateur points standings by two points from England’s Sam Hobday.

But with nine first time winners this season, there is much to play for including a start in the PGA Tour’s 2018 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational (for the MENA Tour champion) as well as the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Hassan II Trophy, Maybank Championship Malaysia and KLM Open during the wrap-around 2017-18 European Tour schedule. Playing privileges on South Africa’s Sunshine Tour, and exemptions into the final stage of the Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour Q-Schools are also up for grabs.

“With each event producing a new winner, including Netherland’s Pierre Junior Verlaar, who became the second amateur after Rayhan [2016 Dubai Creek Open champion Rayhan Thomas] to win a MENA Tour event, the first-half of the season turned out to be a great success, further amplifying the strength of the tour.

“With Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on offer, I see big things for the MENA Tour. If it keeps going the way it is, it’s a huge pathway for someone from this region to qualify for the Olympics. It gives young professionals much-needed experience, which is difficult to gain.”

An initiative of the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, the MENA Tour was created in 2011 with the aim of developing golf in the region. It is affiliated to R&A and the Arab Golf Federation and enjoys the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status.

2017 MENA Tour – Post summer schedule
Sept 11-13: The Dubai Creek Open
Venue: at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club. Purse: US$50,000

Sept 18-20: The Golf Citizen Classic
Venue: Els Club Dubai. Purse: US$30,000

Sept 25-27: The Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open
Venue: Yas Links GC. Purse: US$50,000

Oct 5-7: Jordan’s Ayla Golf Championship
Venue: Ayla Golf Resort (Aqaba). Purse: US$50,000

Oct 16-18: The Sahara Kuwait Golf Championship
Venue: Sahara Golf & County Club. Purse: US$50,000

Oct 23-26: The MENA Tour Championship
Venue: Al Zorah GC (Ajman). Purse: $100,000

Completed events
March 6-9: 2017 Qualifying School, El Jadida Golf Club, Morocco
Winner – Jack Doherty (SCO)

March 14-16: Palmeraie Country Club Casablanca Open
Winner – Leo Lilja (SPN)

March 19-21: Royal Golf Mohammedia Open
Winner – Pierre Junior Verlaar (NED/Amateur)

April 24-26: Ras Al Khaimah Classic
Winner – Peter Stojanovski (AUS)

Thailand Swing
May 2-4: Mahasamutr Masters
Winner – Jazz Janewattananond (THAI)

May 8-10: Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen
Winner – Lionel Weber (FRA)

May 16-19: Pattana Golf Championship*
Winner – Fredrik From (SWE)

South African Swing
June 7-9: South to East Challenge
Winner – Breyten Meyer (RSA)

June 13-15: Jo’burg City Masters
Winner – Jaco Prinsloo (RSA)

June 20-22: The Roar
Winner – Daniel Hammond (RSA)

*72-hole event reduced to 36 holes due to inclement weather

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As golf tournaments go, this week’s South to East Challenge near Johannesburg is hardly what you’d call big game.

The $30,000 (ZAR 400,000) event is a stop on the Big Easy Tour, a mid-season, garden variety event on the feeder circuit to South Africa’s celebrated but ultimately still developmental Sunshine Tour. It means only the players, their friends and family and serious golf anoraks elsewhere are likely to stay abreast of developments during the 54-holer.

With the U.S. Open to prepare for at Erin Hills in Wisconsin next week, it’s a fair bet the renowned golf photographer David Cannon won’t be clicking away inside the ropes at Ebotse Links in Benoni. But rest assured, the Englishman will have the South to East Challenge in sharp focus.

Cannon’s 30-year-old son, Chris, is one of the players to watch this week as the MENA Tour goes on its annual safari, co-sanctioning three events as part of its South African swing.

After years of graft and a tough start to the season, Chris finally broke through to win the Big Easy Sunshine Tour’s recent Kempton Park title, carding rounds of 67-65 and firing up Dad along the way.

Proud Dad! Today son Chris showing he has it! @BigEasyTourSA great effort! More to come! pic.twitter.com/GQ9dH9dQf1

— David Cannon (@Cannonball63) May 25, 2017

David Cannon has previously told GolfDigestMe.com that his ultimate dream is to photograph Chris playing the Open Championship one day, though we wonder how he’d manage to focus through the inevitable tears of joy.

Chris is still a way off lining up in a major but the sometimes MENA Tour starter can at least see light as he toils away in golf’s lower leagues hoping for that big time break.

“I feel like I have been moving in the right direction and my play is getting better and better,” he told the Sunshine Big Easy Tour.

“I think everything has been improving. I mean, I have certainly been putting well and my wedge shots have been much better as well this week. So, it’s just a general overall improvement and also mentally, I have been very focused.”

Fredrik From, meanwhile, will also take that rare winning feeling into this week having captured the MENA Tour’s most recent event, the rain-shortened Pattana Golf Championship in Thailand.

Fredrik Form

The 27-year-old Swede has set his sights on the MENA Tour order of merit title after signing for a sizzling 63 in the final round and has every reason to set such lofty goals after his breakthrough. The eventual MENA Tour champion earns starts in the PGA Tour’s 2018 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational at Colonial Country Club as well as European Tour starts in Dubai, Morocco, Malaysia and The Netherlands among other incentives.

Cannon and From will have their work cut out with defending champion Bryandrew Roelofsz and current Big Easy Tour money leader and countryman Etienne Bond headlining the South to East Challenge field.

England’s Luke Joy, who will be looking to make amends after missing the cut at the Zambia Open on the Sunshine Tour last week, is one of 37 MENA Tour professionals and five amateurs in the field. He is joined by fellow MENA Tour winners Tyler Hogarty (South Africa), Antonio Costa (Chile) and Cyril Suk (Czech Republic) while Dubai-based Brazilian Tiago Lobo, who is currently second to Switzerland’s Michael Harradine in the amateur order of merit standings, will be watched closely. The 100-strong field will be cut to the leading 50 professionals and ties after 36-holes.

Designed by Matkovich and Hayes Golf Course Architects, Ebotse Links has been described as South Africa’s only “inland links”. It was built to US PGA specifications with a 6,372-metre par 72-rating, features seven holes on the water and is currently ranked the 32nd best course by Golf Digest South Africa.

“We are very excited with our association with the Sunshine Big Easy Tour, which will benefit members of both the tours and help further stimulate the growth of golf. South Africa boasts some of the best and most beautiful golf courses in the world. I am confident our members will have fun playing there,” said Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Tour.

The MENA Tour is also co-sanctioning the Jo’burg City Masters at the Country Club from June 13-15 and The Roar at Waterkloof Golf Club in Pretoria from June 20-22.

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By John Strege

Presumably true grit is appreciated in the southwest, which ought to salve the disappointment Texan golf fans might have taken away from the Dean & DeLuca Invitational when Jordan Spieth came up short on Sunday.

Grit is a hallmark of the man who beat him, Kevin Kisner, who took the lead early on the back nine at Fort Worth’s Colonial Country Club and stubbornly refused to relinquish it.

So Kisner won and Spieth lost, yet each quelled trivial talking points, that Kisner does everything but win and concerns over the state of Spieth’s game.

The victory was Kisner’s second on the PGA Tour, but in the interim between wins he had finished second twice, third once and fourth twice.

“You start questioning if you’re going to win again after a while,” Kisner said. “Everybody was questioning if I was ever going to win. Then I win, and then everybody questions if I was ever going to win again. But I knew the way I was playing I going to give myself a ton of chances to win. That’s all you dream about, is having a chance coming down the last five holes. I’ve had that probably three or four times this year. It’s always fun, and you always handle it differently.”

This time he handled it expertly, by saving par from behind the 18th green and holing a five-foot putt to win.

“Hats off to Kiz,” Spieth said moments after standing on a folding chair on the clubhouse veranda to get a better look at whether he might be headed to a playoff. “Kiz is such a solid player. He deserved that win.”

On a course known as Hogan’s Alley, one that requires Hogan-esque precision, Kisner, over four rounds, led the field in fairways hit and was second in greens in regulation, diminishing stress on the short game. Yet when the targets shrunk on Sunday—he hit only eight of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens in regulation—his short game was up to the task, resulting in a four-under 66 for a one-stroke victory over Spieth, Jon Rahm and Sean O’Hair.

Spieth, meanwhile, started the final round five shots off the lead, shot a bogey-free five-under 65 that, had it not been for what Spieth descried as “nasty lipouts” on the third and 12th holes, might have given the tournament its first back-to-back winner since Hogan’s victories in 1952 and ’53.

Presumably true grit is appreciated in the southwest, which ought to salve the disappointment Texan golf fans might have taken away from the Dean & DeLuca Invitational when Jordan Spieth came up short on Sunday.

Grit is a hallmark of the man who beat him, Kevin Kisner, who took the lead early on the back nine at Fort Worth’s Colonial Country Club and stubbornly refused to relinquish it.

So Kisner won and Spieth lost, yet each quelled trivial talking points, that Kisner does everything but win and concerns over the state of Spieth’s game.

The victory was Kisner’s second on the PGA Tour, but in the interim between wins he had finished second twice, third once and fourth twice.

“You start questioning if you’re going to win again after a while,” Kisner said. “Everybody was questioning if I was ever going to win. Then I win, and then everybody questions if I was ever going to win again. But I knew the way I was playing I going to give myself a ton of chances to win. That’s all you dream about, is having a chance coming down the last five holes. I’ve had that probably three or four times this year. It’s always fun, and you always handle it differently.”

This time he handled it expertly, by saving par from behind the 18th green and holing a five-foot putt to win.

“Hats off to Kiz,” Spieth said moments after standing on a folding chair on the clubhouse veranda to get a better look at whether he might be headed to a playoff. “Kiz is such a solid player. He deserved that win.”

On a course known as Hogan’s Alley, one that requires Hogan-esque precision, Kisner, over four rounds, led the field in fairways hit and was second in greens in regulation, diminishing stress on the short game. Yet when the targets shrunk on Sunday—he hit only eight of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens in regulation—his short game was up to the task, resulting in a four-under 66 for a one-stroke victory over Spieth, Jon Rahm and Sean O’Hair.

Spieth, meanwhile, started the final round five shots off the lead, shot a bogey-free five-under 65 that, had it not been for what Spieth descried as “nasty lipouts” on the third and 12th holes, might have given the tournament its first back-to-back winner since Hogan’s victories in 1952 and ’53.

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The post After flirting with a new flat stick, Jordan Spieth puts old putter back in the bag at Colonial appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 21-year-old Thai has been handed a special invite to play this week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth in Texas.

The dream opportunity to play the PGA Tour event comes from Pace Development Corporation, the owner of gourmet food and beverage brand ‘DEAN & DELUCA’ and title sponsor of the $ $6.7 million tournament, following his impressive victory in the MENA Tour’s MahaSamutr Masters at Banyan Golf Club in Hua Hin, Thailand, earlier this month.

Janewattananond is understandably looking forward to becoming the first Thai player to play the event where he will tee it up alongside some the game’s biggest names in the countdown to the U.S. Open at Erin Hills. The DEAN & DELUCA Invitational is headlined by defending champion Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Masters and Omega Dubai Desert Classic champion Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm and Matt Kuchar.

“It is a great honour and opportunity to represent Thailand at such a world-class professional tournament,” said Jazz, who turned professional in 2010 and became the youngest ever player to make the halfway cut on the 2010 Asian Tour, aged 14 years and 71 days.

“My sincere thanks to PACE Development Corporation and DEAN & DELUCA for offering me such a valuable spot. I will try and do my best. The experience of playing alongside world-class player will certainly come handy for the future.

This year’s MENA Tour order of merit champion will follow in Janewattananond spike marks with a spot at the 2018 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational one of the key rewards for the tour’s money list winner.

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This year’s MENA Tour order-of-merit champion will tee it up at the $6.9 million Dean & Deluca Invitational at historic Colonial Country Club in May next year.

The coup comes courtesy of a close relationship between one of the MENA Tour’s tournament sponsors, Thailand’s MahaSamutr Country Club, and fine food specialists Dean & Deluca.

“This partnership, in conjunction with Colonial Country Club, marks another ground-breaking step forward for the MENA Tour as it aims to form new alliances around the world that can benefit its members and grow the game of golf,” the MENA Tour said in a statement.

Two-time major winner and former world No.1 Jordan Spieth is the reigning champion at Colonial in a tournament which drapes its champions, a veritable whose who of the game’s greatest names, in a red tartan jacket.

Jordan Spieth will defend the famed red tartan jacket at Colonial in May. Photo: Getty Images

Ben Hogan won the inaugural tournament in 1946 and went on to capture the title a further four times. Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw, Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson and Adam Scott have also won in what is the longest running event at the same venue and the 10th oldest event on the PGA Tour.

The invite adds considerable lure to the MENA Tour which already offers its members starts at the European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic and Trophee Hassan II in Morocco in addition to playing privileges on South Africa’s Sunshine Tour and exemptions into the final stage of Asian Tour Q-School.

It also comes after chairman Mohamed Juma Buamaim critically secured Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status for the developmental Pro-Am tour last year.

The MENA Tour began in 2011 and is affiliated to The R&A and the Arab Golf Federation. Spanish rookie Leo Lilja currently leads the moneylist after winning the season-opening Casablanca Open before missing the cut in the most recent Royal Golf Mohammedia Open, also in Morocco, which was won by Dutch amateur Pierre Junior Verlaar.

“The invitation to play in one of the most prestigious PGA Tour events is a great development for the MENA Tour, one that will resonate on many levels, reinforcing the growing strength of the game in the MENA region,” said Buamaim.

“I would like to thank Dean & Deluca and MahaSamutr Country Club for their gesture and believe it will further motivate tour members to keep pushing forward. All we want is to fuel an ideal climate for competitive golf in the region for young golfers to come through the ranks and make a name for themselves. Every step is a leap forward.”

The invitation follows PACE Development’s on-going commitment of the opening event of the MENA Tour’s three-tournament Thailand swing, the $50,000 MahaSamutr Masters at Banyan Golf Club in Hua Hin (May 2-4). It is followed by another 54-holer, the $30,000 Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen (May 8-10), and the $50,000 Pattana Golf Championship, the tour’s first 72-hole event, from May 16-19.

Dean & Deluca was recently acquired by Pace Development Corporation, one of Thailand’s leading real estate firms that owns MahaSamutr Country Club. The latter made a foray into golf sponsorship when it sponsored the 2016 inaugural MahaSamutr Masters at Banyan Golf Club.

Chilean Antonio Costa, the winner of the MENA Tour’s 2016 MahaSamutr Masters, with Kajohnphob Teepaganont of Pace Development Corporation, MENA Tour chairman Mohamed Juma Buamaim, H.E. Pasan Teparak, Stacey Walton of GLS Asia, and Korrakoch Charoenplung of Pace at Banyan GC

“PACE Development Corporation is delighted to be sponsoring [the] MENA Tour for the second consecutive year and opening the tournament [Thailand swing] with MahaSamutr Masters 2017,” said Sorapoj Techakraisri, CEO of Pace Development Corporation Plc.

“We are also excited to offer this year’s tour winner an invitation to the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational in 2018 to support the tour’s long-term commitment to bringing the popularity of this game to Asia and being the first step before taking on the world stage. Good luck to all of this year’s players.”

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