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!

The post Montgomerie pro David Laing earns Al Hamra return for dream European Challenge Tour start appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“I’ve played golf my whole life, started when I was three years old, and I couldn’t sit in a classroom any more,” the South African told Golf Digest Middle East after spending a year focused on maths and biology. “I want to stay working in the game forever.”

Life sorted, Wears-Taylor asked a mate working in Dubai to keep an ear to the ground for golf opportunities across the UAE and soon found himself manning the pro shop at Al Zorah Golf Club six weeks after the Nicklaus Design course opened in Ajman.

The 20-year-old is now a year through his PGA apprenticeship and is playing some tidy golf to boot. On Tuesday Wears-Taylor won his third event of the 2016-2017 UAE PGA season, edging Gavin Sutherland (Jumeirah Golf Estates) in a playoff at Trump International Golf Club Dubai.

So is a career inside the ropes on the cards, or will it be teaching? Or maybe golf management?

“There’s always the dream of taking it [playing] further but as long as I stay in golf, I’ll be happy,” Wears-Taylor said.

“I’m not sure which will bite first, teaching or management. I got very lucky [landing the shop attendant role at Al Zorah] and I’m very happy out here, especially working for Troon International. That just widens your opportunities.

“Then again, being a player [touring pro] can also take you around the world but I’m just enjoying what I have at the moment. We’ll see how it goes.”

Stefan Wears-Taylor is congratulated by Trump International Golf Club Dubai Director of Golf Craig Waddell

Wears-Taylor clearly has game. He negotiated the 7229-yard Trump Dubai in one-under 70 on Tuesday, mixing birdies on the 2^nd, 7^th and 9^th with bogeys on the 5^th and 11^th.

Sutherland applied the blowtorch in the playoff with a tight approach to the first green but Wears-Taylor responded, sticking his second to 12 feet before holing the putt after Sutherland’s own birdie attempt slid by.

It comes after wins in October’s Patrons Pro Am at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club and at The Track, Meydan Golf the following month and has seen Wears-Taylor creep up to fourth place on the order of merit.

He’ll miss Monday’s penultimate strokeplay event in Al Ain but will have home club advantage on his side for the season-ending UAE PGA Tour Championship at Al Zorah on May 1-2.

Dubai Creek teaching professional Cennydd Mills, a five-time winner this season, finished solo third at Trump to remain atop the overall OOM standings ahead of Sutherland while UAE PGA chief executive Steven Munro is third.

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 Munro will defend his Tour Championship title and also remains in the hunt for the UAE PGA Matchplay title. He meets either David Gray (DG Golf) or Tom Henderson (JGE) on April 25 for a place in the final later that day. Defending champion Callum Nicoll (Abu Dhabi GC) plays Rory Young (Al Ghazal) in Tuesday’s other semifinal.

The post Wears-Taylor wins UAE PGA event at Trump, continues to live the dream appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.