A virus that has lingered since early January has made the 25-year-old German’s start to the new MENA Tour season a misery as he missed the cut in both Jordan and Ajman with respective 12 over totals. 

As such, Leitmannstetter understandably enters the third of the MENA Tour’s 10 events with subdued expectations although he does have pedigree at this week’s venue having finished runner-up to England’s Lee Corfield in 2015 and champion in 2016, the last time the $75,000 Ghala Golf Club Open was played.

He certainly won’t mind if his happy memories at the Oman oasis ends up giving him a shot at the US$13,500 winner’s cheque and the champion’s invite to the European Challenge Tour’s Andalucia– Costa del Sol Match Play (May 17-20).

“I love this golf course and I feel very comfortable here. I don’t know why, but the golf course seems to suit my eyes,” the Munich-born, Dubai-based Leitmannstetter said.

“It is a golf course where you have to be very smart with your golf. The wind can be a huge factor and the greens are very tricky. It is also a tight course. You need to know where to hit your shots, and more importantly, where to miss them.”

BITE-SIZE INTERVIEW
(With Aaron Leitmannstetter before the Ghala Golf Club Open)
He is the ‘defending champion’ here, having won when the Tour visited Muscat last in 2016 and runner-up in 2015.
Find out how he is feeling ahead of this week’s tournament…#HBFS #JourneyToJordan pic.twitter.com/BvLH6TE9l3

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) February 24, 2019

Thankfully Leitmannstetter is starting to feel brighter after struggling through the season-opening Journey to Jordan with rounds of 75-81 before scores of 76-80 at the Troon Series- Al Zorah Open.

“It all started at the beginning of the year and I picked up some virus that just kept lingering on,” said Leitmannstetter who is off at 9:30am in his opening round on Monday with Englishman Robbie Busher and Swede Oliver Jacobsson.

“I played the last two weeks on the MENA Tour but I was never 100 percent. There were days when I could play, and there were days when I just could not because of high fever and pain in the limbs.

“I decided to just sleep for two days after the tournament at Al Zorah Golf Club in Ajman. I must say I am feeling a lot better. I don’t have high expectations this week, and that could be a good thing.

“I changed my clubs to Wilson earlier this year and haven’t been able to put a lot of time in the range with them because of my illness. However, I can feel that my game is getting back in the groove.”

A noted name among the 114 starters this week is the former Abu Dhabi HSBC Champion Gary Stal. Dubai amateur Rayhan Thomas and Journey to Jordan-1 winner Matthew Baldwin are notable absentees but newly crowned Al Zorah Open champion Daniel Gaunt will tee it up at 11.20am in the company of Spain’s Leo Lilja and South African Teagan Moore.

There are 10 amateurs in the field including current order of merit leader Curtis Knipes (T-10 in Jordan and T-13 in Ajman) and Dubai-based 14-year-olds Josh Hill, Toby Bishop and Arjun Gupta. Hill has been the most successful of the “Three Musketeers” thus far, finishing T-32 at Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba and T-39 at Al Zorah last week. 

This is how @theMENATour makes a difference. The latest @WAGRank is out and our leading amateurs from the Journey To Jordan-1 have all made a big move. pic.twitter.com/cVUb672KZm

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) February 24, 2019

The post Beware Aaron Leitmannstetter at this week’s MENA Tour stop in Oman? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Rising South Korean star Seung-Su Han and 2015 Champion Gary Stal (France) have also accepted special invites to the $3 million European Tour event starting Thursday while Li Haotong and Branden Grace will also tee it up.

Jose Maria Olazabal

The 11th hour drawcard announcements add further spice to the opening leg of the now four-event Desert Swing which has attracted the PR-themed “Magnificent Seven” of world No.1 Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Paul Casey, Matt Kuchar and Tommy Fleetwood, the defending champion.

DeChambeau, 24, created global headlines when he became the fifth golfer in history to win both the NCAA Division I championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same year.

The world No. 94, who made his PGA Tour breakthrough at last year’s John Deere Classic, is no stranger to Abu Dhabi having thrilled the galleries with an opening, eight-under 64 to take the lead in on The National in 2016.

The American went into the weekend tied-second with Rory McIlroy before Rickie Fowler’s impressive final round performance saw him lift the famous Falcon trophy.

“2018 is going to be a massive year for me and playing in Abu Dhabi is a great place to start,” said DeChambeau.

“The field is looking really strong so I’m looking forward to testing myself against some of the best players in the world right now.”

Rising star Seung-Su Han, who is currently ranked 78th in the world, has had a stellar 2017. After winning the Casio Open and finishing runner up at the Fujisankei Classic and JGT Championship Mori Building Cup Shishido Hills, all in Japan, Han is looking to climb further up the world rankings with a strong performance in Abu Dhabi:

Seung Su Han

“It’s going to be a fantastic experience playing for the first time here in Abu Dhabi, especially with such a strong field this year. I’m just going to focus on my game and give the best account of myself that I can; I can’t wait to get out on the course,” said Han.

Han and DeChambeau will hope to draw inspiration from newly announced players Li Haotong and Branden Grace.

China’s Haotong has had a standout couple of years, winning the Volvo China Open in 2016 before almost achieving the unthinkable and winning the Open in 2017, where he finished in a commendable third position alone, all before his 22nd birthday.

South African Branden Grace is sitting pretty in the world rankings in 30th place. In 2017, Grace won the Nedbank Golf Challenge and has shown serious form in Abu Dhabi, finishing in T-13 last year’s Championship.

The post Olazábal, DeChambeau and Li Haotong headline late drawcard entries for Abu Dhabi appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.