Grant Forrest Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

DP World Tour returns to St Andrews for Hero Open

Matt Smith — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 10:45:09 +0000

By Matt Smith
It seems like only a couple of weeks have passed since the world of golf descended on St Andrews for the 150th Open Championship.

OK, it actually was only a couple of weeks, but the DP World Tour has returned to the Home of Golf for the Hero Open — on the Torrance Course at Fairmont rather than the Old Course this time around.

This is the Tour’s third visit to the links of Fairmont St Andrews, also the venue for the AXA Scottish Championship in 2020 and the Scottish Senior Open on six occasions. Incidentally it was also a Final Open Qualifying Venue earlier this summer before the big one on the Old Course.

One man hoping to make an impact is Ryan Fox, who is having something of a stand-out season. Following his five-shot victory at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic in February, the New Zealander has registered seven top-10s in 15 appearances this year, including three runner-up finishes, taking him to fifth on the DP World Tour Rankings. A second win of the season would see Fox overtake Viktor Hovland and Matt Fitzpatrick in the standings and into third position, behind leader Rory McIlroy and Will Zalatoris.

Grant Forrest. DP World Tour

One man looking to spoil that particular party is Scotland’s defending champion Grant Forrest, who produced a brilliant birdie-birdie finish to win his maiden Tour title on home soil last year, one shot ahead of England’s James Morrison. Fellow Scots Calum Hill, who had won his maiden Tour title a week earlier, and David Law also finished in the top five. Forrest’s victory saw him become the first Scot to win in his homeland since Paul Lawrie at the 2012 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and the 29-year-old enjoyed an encouraging preparation for his title defence as he finished tied third in last week’s Cazoo Classic at Hillside Golf Club.

There are no shortage of Scots aiming to emulate Richie Ramsay and make it back-to-back Scottish winners on Tour. Long-standing multiple DP World Tour winners Stephen Gallacher, Marc Warren and Ramsay are joined by a younger generation of Scottish starts including defending champion Grant Forrest, Ewen Ferguson, Connor Syme and Hill. Also hoping to make it another Scottish success story for the second year running is Liam Johnston, who graduated from the Challenge Tour at Ras Al Khaimah alongside Robert MacIntyre, Law and Forrest in 2018.

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DP World Tour: Waring takes early lead at Cazoo Classic

Matt Smith — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 06:11:43 +0000

By Matt Smith
Paul Waring was the local hero on Thursday as the 37-year-old produced an eagle-birdie finish on day one of the DP World Tour 2022 Cazoo Classic to tie the course record at Hillside Golf Club and open up a two-shot lead.

After carding seven birdies and a single bogey in his first 16 holes to join the large group on six-under at the top of the leaderboard, Waring holed his bunker shot at the par-five 17th for a tremendous eagle to hit the front on his own.

The 37-year-old followed that up with a closing birdie putt from 13 feet to sign for a 63, matching the course record set by Matthew Jordan in 2019.

Waring’s nine-undertotal saw him lead by two from nearest challenger Garrick Porteous, with Jens Dantorp, Julien Guerrier, Grant Forrest and Richard Mansell another shot back on six-under.

“I started nicely, controlled my ball pretty well all day,” said Waring. “It’s funny, I’d felt like I’ve been playing nicely over the last few weeks and months, just not having any results so to actually put it all together for a round of golf, I’m absolutely made up.

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Former England cricketer Craig Kieswetter poised for professional golf debut in Casablanca

Kent Gray — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 13:44:23 +0000

Craig Kieswetter, former professional cricketer, is now officially Craig Kieswetter, current professional golfer.

The former England wicketkeeper-batsman earned his MENA Tour card in Morocco last week in a giant step towards his lofty dream of becoming a European Tour regular.

He doesn’t have to wait long to face his first examination as a touring professional with the 29-year-old set to tee it up in the MENA Tour’s $40,000 season-opening Palmeraie Country Club Casablanca Open on Tuesday.

The 54-holer on the six-month old course comes after the South African-born Kieswetter tweeted his delight at successfully negotiating the Middle East and North Africa developmental Pro-Am tour’s qualifying school.

Living the dream, from one sport as a professional to another! Qualified for @MENAGolfTour 2017 – double ???? up pic.twitter.com/SiHPu4d0iy

— Craig Kieswetter (@kiesy_22) March 11, 2017

He finished T31 at El Jadida Golf Club in Mazagan – the top 55 and ties earned MENA Tour cards for 2017 – but his 18-over-par total of 234 (77-82-75) shows he still has a way to go to achieve his dream of reaching the European Tour within two years.

Kieswetter was capped 71 times by England – 46 one day internationals and 25 T20 matches – between 2010 and 2013. He was named man of the match after scoring 63 off 49 deliveries in England’s victory over Australia in the World T20 Cup final in 2010 in Barbados but had his cricket career cut short after being struck by a bouncer playing a country match for Somerset in July 2014.

The delivery from Northamptonshire paceman David Willey squeezed through the grille of his helmet, breaking his nose and smashing his eye socket to “pieces”. Though he briefly attempted a comeback, his sight was permanently damaged and definitely no good at night where the white ball and the glare of floodlights proved uncomfortable bedfellows.

His face rebuilt with metal implants and his financial situation comfortable (among his entrepreneur father’s business interests is a distillery in Scotland), Kieswetter was encouraged to go on a golf break. In Florida he arranged for some lessons from David Leadbetter where his natural ability shone and a seed was planted.

Apparently chicks dig scars…?! #rocky pic.twitter.com/DcGBhp5unN

— Craig Kieswetter (@kiesy_22) July 13, 2014

Kieswetter told The Telegraph recently that he is convinced he has the ability and, crucially, the time to make it in pro golf.

“I think at the beginning there was a bit of: who does he think he is?” he said. “Even now, every tournament I go to I’m introduced as the ex-England cricketer. It does frustrate me.

“But it was the same when I first played cricket. Then it was ‘here’s the lad from the affluent family’. That desire to prove people wrong was quite a big thing for me.”

KANDY, SRI LANKA – Craig Kieswetter of England celebrates catching out Kane Williamson of New Zealand during the ICC World Twenty20 2012. Photos by Getty Images

The Casablanca Open, which concludes Thursday, won’t be Kieswetter’s first MENA Tour start. He finished T31 on level par as an amateur in the inaugural Sahara Kuwait Championship last October.

Englishmen Benjamin David and Edward Holland and Scotland’s Daniel Hendry are others set to make their professional debuts at Palmeraie Country Club among a record MENA Tour field of 137 players, including 19 amateurs, from 25 countries. Scotland’s Grant Forrest and India’s Feroz Singh Garewal also graduated from Q-School alongside Kieswetter.

England’s Zane Scotland, awarded the first MENA Tour life-membership by tour patron and 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke at last month’s Dubai Desert Classic, will go in search of a record 11^th win.

Other notables in the field are 2016 moneylist winner Craig Hinton, fellow Englishman Lee Corfield, Andrew Marshall, Luke Joy, and Jake Shepherd – all multiple winners on the MENA Tour – 2014 order of merit champion Joshua White and Spanish swashbuckler Carlos Balmaseda.

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Q-School winner Jack Doherty to bypass MENA Tour opener in Casablanca

Kent Gray — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 12:18:43 +0000

Jack Doherty will put a healthy dose of golf’s greatest commodity – confidence – on ice for a week after opting to bypass the first event of the MENA Tour season in Morocco from Tuesday.

The Scotsman (pictured second from left) won the tour’s Q-School by three strokes last week but will miss the US$40,000, 54-hole Casablanca Open which concludes at Palmeraie Country Club Thursday to attend his brother Paul’s stag-do in the United Kingdom.

Jack is expected to make his debut proper alongside Paul, a former MENA Tour winner, in next week’s Royal Golf Mohammedia Open, also in Casablanca, before teeing it up in the April 24-26 Ras Al Khaimah Classic at Tower Links, the third event of the season before a three-tournament Thailand swing.

Jack Doherty started the final round of Q-School at Royal Golf El Jadida two shots off the pace and recovered from two early bogeys to fire a three under-par 69 to finish on 216, even par.

He led a Scotland one-two with 2015 Walker Cup rep Grant Forrest carding a final round 73 to finish runner-up on +3, a shot ahead of a Spaniards Gabriel Canizares and Leonardo Axel Lilja Moyano and Englishman Paul Dwyer.

India’s Feroz Singh Garewal, who shared the 36-hole lead with Moyano, slipped into a tie of 10th on +7 after signing for a 78 while England’s Danny Poulter, the brother of Ryder Cupper Ian, finished in a three-way tie for 7^th on six-over 222, a stroke behind England’s Nicholas McCarthy.

Former England cricketer Craig Kieswetter, who has set himself the target of being a regular on the European Tour, birdied two of his last four holes for a closing 75 that left him in a share of 31st at 18 over.

Elsewhere, UAE’s Ahmed Al Musharrekh finished in a tie for 53rd on 23 over after posting a final round 78 as the top 55 and ties from the final stage were awarded the MENA Tour cards for the 2017 season.

An initiative of the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, the MENA Golf 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 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status.

Multiple European Tour starts, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Hassan II Trophy and the Maybank Championship Malaysia in addition to full playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour and exemptions into the final stage of the Asian Tour Q-School for the leading three professionals are among the incentives for the MENA Tour members.

Pictured above (L to R) are the MENA Tour’s Robbie Williams, Q-School champion Jack Doherty, chief referee Abdelatif Elbachari and Royal Golf El Jadida manager Redouane Diab.

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