The Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club head teaching pro overcame gusty winds at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to win the 15th event on the 2017-18 UAE PGA Tour on Monday with a two-over 74. It was his third victory in as many starts on the regional circuit after he notched back-to-back wins at Trump Dubai and Saadiyat Beach in December, the latter landing him a dream start in January’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The 38-year-old Scot recorded rounds of  74-75 – and a lifetime of memories – in the European Tour event and has clearly picked up where he left off – Monday’s event in Abu Dhabi was his first since the Desert Swing opener and means he’s won three of the five UAE PGA events he’s entered this season.

Related: Tommy’s honour as Buchanan bows out of Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in style
Related: Buchanan living the dream at European Tour event

“I was a bit rusty out there today and had some new clubs in the bag as well and made a few errors. Having only played 36 holes since Abu Dhabi [January] certainly wasn’t ideal,” Buchanan told Golf Digest Middle East.

“But it was great to be back at Abu Dhabi, so many good memories. It’s always great to win and to beat your peers.”

Nice to win my 3rd @uaepga trophy today @ADGolfClub. New weapons from @Titleist were behaving beautifully On a very blustery day. Hope the form continues for the rest of the season. #uaepga pic.twitter.com/QLTSBKMd4i

— Tom Buchanan (@tompro66) March 12, 2018

Starting on the 10th, Buchanan got off to a heady start with birdie but doubled the 14th before a birdie on the par-5 18th saw him make the turn at even par. He then traded a bogey at the 3rd with a birdie at the 5th before a frustrating bogey-bogey finish.

“I bogeyed my last two holes and thought that would cost me but fortunately it was good enough,” he said. “I’ve only played five events this year and to win three is fantastic. Hopefully the form can continue and we [the pros] can’t wait for the Dubai Golf Trophy [matches against the best Emirates Golf Federation order of merit amateurs on May12-13].”

Buchanan’s 74 edged Jonathan Craddock (Emirates G.C.), former UAE PGA chief executive Steven Munro and Michael Major (Dubai Creek) into a share of second place after the trio signed for 76s on Monday.

It was Craddock’s second runner-up finish inside a week after he lost in a playoff (also involving current UAE PGA chief executive Luke Plumb) to Joe Way at Emirates Golf Club last week.

The next event on the UAE PGA Tour order of merit schedule is the Montgomerie Pro-Am on April 2.

Related: Creek pro Joe Way wins second UAE PGA title at The Faldo

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The Dubai Creek teaching pro survived a high-scoring playoff to edge UAE PGA chief executive Luke Plumb (Trump Dubai) and Jonathan Craddock (Emirates G.C.) after the trio had reached overtime with one-over 73s on The Faldo course.

Related: Let UAE PGA winner Joe Way show you how to escape fairway bunkers

Plumb was the first casualty in extra time, a double-bogey on the Faldo’s par-4 1st not enough to match Way and Craddock’s bogeys. The survivors then bogeyed the par-3 2nd before Way finally got the job done with a par on the par-5 3rd.

@joeway_ Joe Way was victorious @emiratesgc winning a 3 hole playoff after tieing on 73 with @golfcoachjc and Luke Plumb. #emiratesgolfclub #faldocourse #uaepga #dubaigolftrophy #orderofmerit

A post shared by UAE PGA (@uaepga) on Mar 7, 2018 at 10:26am PST

Way isn’t in the field for the next event on the PGA schedule at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Monday but is well placed in the season-long order of merit in fifth place after 14 of 19 events. Stefan Wears-Taylor, Mills, Mike Bolt (Trump Dubai) and Ryan Smith (The Address Montgomerie) make up the top four heading into the Abu Dhabi, the Montgomerie Pro-Am (April 2), Jumeirah Golf Estates (April 16) and UAE PGA Strokeplay Championship at Arabian Ranches on April 30-May 1.

The UAE PGA Matchplay Championship, which also counts towards the final OOM standings, is on-going with the semifinals and final to be held at Trump International Golf Club Dubai in the week before the strokeplay championship.

Related: What a Way to finish the UAE PGA Pro Am

The top 14 players in the OOM standings, plus two picks, qualify for the UAE PGA team hoping to regain the Dubai Trophy against the Emirates Golf Federation’s leading amateurs at Emirates G.C. and Dubai Creek on May 12-13.

The post Way wins second UAE PGA title on The Faldo after tough playoff appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Emirates Golf Club pro edged Mills with a par in extra time on the 1st hole at Arabian Ranches after matching the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club teaching pro and serial UAE PGA Tour winner’s four-under-par 68.

“I’m delighted to pick up my first win on the UAE PGA Order of Merit, its been a long time coming and I’m looking forward to having a run at the Dubai Golf Trophy team this season [now],” said Craddock who is up to 13th on the order of merit.

Craddock rode a hot putter at Ranches, rolling in three successive birdies from the 8th before picking up further gains on the 13th  and 15th holes in regulation. Mills’ Creek colleague Joe Way was third with a 70, a shot clear of Dubai Golf Trophy captain Ryan Smith (The Montgomerie) and host club head pro Malcolm Young who shared fourth.

Al Zorah’s Stefan Wears Taylor, a two-time winner already this season, finished T-6 to extend his lead atop the OOM standings from Mike Bolt (Trump), Smith, Joe Way (Dubai Creek) and Welshman Mills whose OOM title defence is off to a good start despite the playoff disappointment.

Trump International Golf Club Dubai hosts the next event on December 4.

The post Craddock claims maiden <br> UAE PGA Tour title appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.