Matthew Baldwin stormed to a seven-shot victory at the SDC Championship, producing a final-day masterclass to secure a first DP World Tour title in his 200th event.

Baldwin’s 11-year journey to the winner’s circle has contained plenty of ups and downs, with illness forcing him to cut his campaign short in 2015.

But he made the final stretch look easy as he marched to victory at St Francis Links on Sunday, signing for a closing 68 to finish the tournament on 18-under par.

An incredible sand save when it matters most.@mattbaldwin26 ?#SDCChampionship pic.twitter.com/3G958HKBfA

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 19, 2023

The Englishman began the day alongside Kristian Krogh Johannessen at the top of the leaderboard but made three birdies in the last four holes of his third round early on Sunday morning to take a four-stroke advantage into round four.

Baldwin extended that lead to six shots early in the final round, making three birdies on the front side to reach 17-under at the turn and keep the chasing pack at bay.

With no-one able to apply any meaningful pressure on him, Baldwin enjoyed a stress-free back nine as he made two further birdies, with his only bogey of the day coming at the 11th.

Spaniard Adri Arnaus finished alone in second on 11-under after making seven birdies and two bogeys in his closing 67.

After graduating from the European Challenge Tour in 2011, Baldwin enjoyed an impressive first three seasons on Tour, comfortably keeping his card and qualifying for the DP World Tour Championship in 2014, the same season he claimed his best finish of second at the Nelson Mandela Championship.

But he had to shut down his 2015 season in May due to illness and had two operations over the summer before losing his card in 2016.

He was back on Tour for the 2018 season after coming through the Qualifying School and would have been back in 2021 via the Challenge Tour but missed out after the categories were frozen due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A 19th-placed finish on last season’s Road to Mallorca now sees him in his seventh full season on Tour and he can finally call himself a DP World Tour champion.

Having finished his third round with a birdie blitz to sign for a flawless 65 early on Sunday, Baldwin kept his foot on the gas as he began the final 18 holes.

The 37-year-old birdied the first to climb to 15-under before pulling off some great recovery shots to keep his card clean over the next few holes.

After sending his tee-shot at the short seventh to around 18 feet, Baldwin rolled in the birdie putt before making it back-to-back gains from 10 feet on the eighth to move six clear at the top.

He dropped his first shot of the day at the 11th after failing to get up and down from a tricky spot but bounced back with a birdie on the long 13th to return to 17 under.

Baldwin moved even further clear with a second successive gain on the short 14th, rattling in his 20-foot putt to go seven shots ahead, before saving par with a magnificent up-and-down at the 15th.

He then parred his way home to earn his first title in style.

The post Matthew Baldwin storms to famous maiden DP World Tour win on 200th start appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Frenchman Saddier managed to card a seven-under 65 for a share of the lead with Baldwin after 36 holes.

Saddier, who came into this week in 43rd position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, sits on a total of five-under, while England’s Baldwin carded a three-under 69 including a bogey-free back nine as the winds started to pick up.

The high winds forecast for the afternoon at Club de Golf Alcanada meant tee times were brought forward, with Saddier part of the first group of the day from the 10th and he took advantage of the benign early conditions.

The weather worsened as the day wore on and, at one point, it looked like the final groups may not be able to finish, with the balls rolling on the greens.  As it transpired, it was only Baldwin who was able to match Saddier.

Germany’s Nick Bachem is third on four-under, while Frenchman Jeong weon Ko posted a level-par 72 to remain on three-under in fourth place. Englishman John Parry is at two-under to complete the top five.

Road to Mallorca No. 1 Jeremy Freiburghaus is one of five players in a tie for sixth and he is still projected to finish the season on top of the Rankings, while Saddier or Baldwin would earn a spot in the top 20 — and earn a DP World Tour card — if they win in Mallorca.

“It’s a really nice round. I was a bit lucky because we didn’t have much wind for the first six holes so I just took advantage of that. I started really nicely and I just kept going with hitting good shots.

“The pressure for me is quite different because I know I need to win but I really want to be at home next week for my son’s first birthday. I don’t really care about the top 20 because I just want to be at home next week with him, so it’s a different kind of pressure.”

Baldwin added: “It’s been quite blustery so it was nice to get out before the big winds arrived. The gusts, they’re pumping at times, so to judge the right shot is tough but it’s tough for everyone and you’ve got to do the best you can.

“We’re only halfway so there’s still a lot to play for. I’ll try not to get ahead of myself and keep trying to do what I’ve been doing so far.”

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The post Saddier and Baldwin ride the storm at Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final in Mallorca appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Jordanian amateur Shergo Al Kurdi has been given the honour of getting the MENA Tour’s Journey to Jordan back on track at his home Ayla Golf Club.

After the circuit’s six-month summer hiatus, Al Kurdi hit the opening shot in the Journey to Jordan 2 event in Aqaba earlier today.

And the second half of the @theMENATour 2019 season is underway!
Quite aptly, the Jordan Open champion @SHERGOKURDI kickstarts the proceedings with this tee shot on the first at @AylaOasis today!#JourneyToJordan pic.twitter.com/8XY3Kjaa8f

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) September 30, 2019

The $100,000 tournament launches the MENA Tour’s five-event Autumn Swing which culminates with the Tour Championship, also at Ayla, from Nov. 24-28. In between time Yas Links, Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club and Tower Links will host the Abu Dhabi Open (Oct. 6-9), Al Ain Open (Oct. 19-23) and Ras Al Khaimah Open (Oct. 26-30) respectively.

With current Journey to Jordan Order-of-Merit (OOM) leader Matthew Baldwin focused on the European Challenge Tour as well as the Englishman’s nearest challenger, Frenchman Robin Roussel, this week’s event presents a big opportunity for MG Keyser.

The Dubai-based South African is third in the OOM, just $3350 adrift of Baldwin, so can assume pole-position with a top-five finish come Thursday’s final round. Fourth-placed Daniel Gaunt (Australia) and fifth-placed Nick Marsh (England) will also be hoping to take advantage of the absence of Baldwin and Roussel. There will also be interest in Luke Joy’s performance after the Yas Links-attached pro’s recent EuroPro Tour win.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

First time to @aylagolfclub in Jordan ?? Really looking forward to being back playing on the @themenatour #Golf #MenaTour #ViewGoals ??‍

A post shared by Nick Marsh (@marsh_nick94) on Sep 29, 2019 at 6:31am PDT

Amateur OOM leader Curtis Knipes was due off at 8.20am in his opening round. His nearest challenger, Dubai-based England boys’ rep Josh Hill, was to set out 70 mins later while there will also be interest in the opening round performances of Hill’s pals Toby Bishop and Arjun Gupta.

Hill and Bishop recently celebrated international call-ups.

Massive congratulations to our amateur members Josh Hill and Toby Bishop.

Josh selected for England Boys’ squad for 2019-20.

Toby gets into the Wales High Performance Squad.

And oh! They are both just 15!! pic.twitter.com/elcjlniT57

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) September 25, 2019

The post Keyser looks to take advantage of Journey to Jordan absentees as MENA Tour resumes in Aqaba appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
J.B. Holmes leads, Brooks Koepka lurks (rather ominously) but how about Robert ‘Bob’ MacIntrye for the feel-good story on the opening day of the 148th Open Championship? Hang around for the exciting Curtis Knipes sidebar as well.

The two MENA Tour players remained right in the conversation after an opening day of shock and awe at Royal Portrush.

Holmes’s 66 (courtesy of hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 15-18 greens) will see the 37-year-old American take a one-stroke lead over big Irish hope and Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship titleholder Shane Lowry into Friday.

.@JBHolmesgolf birdies the last to tie for the lead #TheOpen

Live scoring ? https://t.co/eQjasgPOwf pic.twitter.com/kgKhl45V75

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2019

After a historic homeward nine of 29 in his 68, big-hitting Kiwi Ryan Fox heads a gaggle of 13 players including Koepka, Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm a shot further back.

.@ryanfoxgolfer was on another level ? #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/QLOxImkYxF

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2019

The shock on Thursday, of course, was provided by Rory McIlroy sending his opening tee shot sailing out of bounds on the 1st – and likely with it his dream of hoisting a second claret jug. The Northern Irishman eventually settled for a snowman eight en-route to an eight-over-par 79, one worse than Tiger Woods whose back doesn’t much like this wintry Co. Antrim weather. Soon afterwards, 2001 champion David Duval took a little heat off McIlroy for the worst hole of the week when he carded a 14 on the par 5 7th en-route to a 91.

For MENA Tour fans, the performances of Open debutants MacIntyre (68) and Knipes (72) were especially heartening.

MacIntyre features in the latest issue of Golf Digest Middle East.

Playing in the company of English cult-hero Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, Scottish lefty MacIntyre earned his fair share of camera time early on day one, highlighted by a mammoth putt for an eagle two on the fifth en-route to his eventual 68.

The 2017 Sahara Kuwait Open champion, who is enjoying a successful rookie season campaign on the European Tour at 21st on the Race to Dubai rankings heading into Royal Porrush, spoke with the MENA Tour’s Joy Chakravarty afterwards:

A past champion on our Tour, @robert1lefty made a sensational start in @theOpen. A three-under par 68 that included an eagle two on the par-4 fifth hole. We spoke to him after the round… pic.twitter.com/rbtd9gKnZn

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) July 18, 2019

Knipes, meanwhile, is second in the race for low amateur honours and the silver medal after his one over 71 left him a shot behind British Amateur champion James Sugrue (Ireland).

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel nervous on the first tee,” said Knipes who leads the MENA Tour amateur order of merit at the halfway stage of the regional developmental circuit season. “It was probably the most nervous I’ve been. Every shot out there you kind of think you’ve settled in, and you do, but you kind of stand over a putt and you do feel the nerves all over again.

“It was a fairly decent round. I played pretty solid. It got pretty tough coming in, obviously we had a bit of rain. And it’s quite a brutal finish around here. But reasonably happy under the pressure.

“I’ve got my eyes on the Silver Medal. Making the cut obviously would be great. But Silver Medal is probably the one goal that I have right now.”

Just a fantastic major debut for Curtis Knipes, the youngest player in @theopen field and the amateur leader in our Journey to Jordan.

We caught up with him after the round of one-over par 72 in which he made three birdies. pic.twitter.com/1kaaEduJoj

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) July 18, 2019

England’s Matthew Baldwin, who leads the MENA Tour’s Professional OOM, dropped five shots in just two holes – a triple on the first and a double on the last – to finish on seven-over-par 78.

Two other former MENA Tour winners are playing the final major of 2019. England’s Callum Shinkwin (2019 Omega Dubai Desert Classic Shootout) finished on one-under-par 70 while Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond (2017 Mahasamutr Open) shot a 74.

The post The Open 2019: MENA Tour champion MacIntyre just two adrift of J.B. Holmes at Royal Portrush appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Indeed, thumb through the tee times for the first two rounds of the 148th Open Championship and there is intrigue everywhere. Surely Rickie Fowler is due a major? Maybe it’s time for recent Dubai Duty Free Irish Open champion Jon Rahm, Omega Dubai Desert Classic champion Bryson DeChambeau or even two-time Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Tommy Fleetwood? On and on it goes…

RELATED: LIVE Open coverage to be streamed to major starved Middle East fans

Two names the uninitiated might skip over are those of Englishman Matthew Baldwin and Curtis Knipes. But for followers of the MENA Tour, qualifying for the final major of the year is a huge achievement for the tour and the current leaders of the regional development circuit’s professional and amateur Order-of-Merit races.

At 18, Knipes is the youngest of the six amateurs chasing the silver medal for low amateur honours at Royal Portrush. Scotsman Sam Locke achieved that momentous honour with a +9 score at Carnoustie last July and given the forecast for Co Antrim, something similar could get the job done for the amateurs this week.

Knipes, ranked no 353 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), is teeing it up in his first major championship are after earning medallist honours at final qualifying at Prince’s in Kent. He is taking a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude into his opening round Thursday where he’ll tee it up alongside Finn Mikko Korhonen and Englishman Oliver Wilson at 11.47am (UAE time).

But don’t think the Chelmsford teen, who is eye the European Tour Q-School at the end of the year, doesn’t have longterm ambitions.

RELATED: Meet Curtis Knipes, the MENA Tour’s latest amateur head-turner

“It is a very proud moment of my career and I am very excited to be here this week,” Knipes told MENA Tour media boss Joy Chakravarty who is onsite at Royal Portrush. “I have come this far, and I want to keep on pushing. I want to be here every year. I don’t want this to be my only one to make it memorable for myself.

“I played decently in the qualifiers, but I thought I showed great attitude really. My caddie, Josh Reid, was a big help. I played with a nothing-to-lose mindset really.

Curtis Knipes at Royal Portrush. Photo: Joy Chakravarty/MENA Tour.

“And that is the mindset I hope to bring to this week once again. I have thought about it and I really have got nothing to lose. I am here now, so I have got to enjoy the experience. If I play well, that is just going to be a bonus.”

Knipes says his rookie campaign on the MENA Tour played an important role in him getting to Royal Portrush, a layout where he reached the final 16 of the 2016 British Boys’ Amateur Championship.

“Those six-odd weeks on the MENA Tour were great. It taught me so much about myself, and about professional golf in particular. I will say to everyone that it is so worth doing, and it was such great preparation for the season as well.”

Knipes enjoyed some practice holes in the company of Masters champion Sergio Garcia and Fleetwood at Portrush on Sunday, a moment he described as “very cool”.

“I just tried to pick their brains a little bit and also got to see how they went about their business from up close,” he said. “I was quite nervous. I was hoping to get a practice round with some of the bigger names just to get used to the crowd and settle down a little bit, which I think I have. I found out that they were normal guys who just happen to be very good at golf.

“I have a good idea of the golf course and it has danger on both sides on most holes. So, it will be an advantage if you are driving the ball well and if you can shape it both ways.”

Knipes’ rivals for the silver medal are newly crowned British Amateur champion James Sugrue (Ireland), Japan’s Takumi Kanaya, German Matthias Schmid, Sussex’s Thomas Thurloway and U.S. 22-year-old Brandon Wu. Wu is currently ranked No.5 in the WAGR, Kanaya No.2.

Matthew Baldwin

Baldwin, meanwhile, has set himself the goal of simply enjoying his fifth major championship start after a rollercoaster year.

The 33-year-old from Southport started the season in blistering form winning the MENA Tour’s B Stage Q-School and Journey to Jordan-1, the opening event of the 10-event schedule. However, he’s struggling in his bid to regain European Tour status with three missed cuts and just one top-15 finish (Challenge de Espana) in seven Challenge Tour starts so far.

“I am here to enjoy my week. I know I have a job to turn my season around,” said Baldwin who finished third in final qualifying at St Anne’s and is off at 2.15pm UAE time in his opening round Thursday alongside Thai 34-year-old Prom Meesawat and England’s Jack Senior.

“The MENA Tour was great for me but it would have been better if I had fired on from there. I don’t think there is anything wrong with my game. I am just getting frustrated, to be honest. I feel like my golf is good enough to be playing on the European Tour, but when you are playing the Challenge Tour and hitting the occasional bad shots, it does become frustrating for me. I feel like I should be doing better and I end up compounding errors with errors.

“I just need to enjoy my golf, and hopefully, that is what we are going to do this week. I am a qualifier and not exempt like many of the other guys. So, let’s see where this goes.”

Baldwin finished T-44 at the 2012 Irish Open in his last competitive visit to Royal Portrush. Changes to the layout since then have been a challenge but he knows he has what it takes to compete this week.

“The biggest thing for me would be not to beat myself up for hitting one or two poor shots here and there. I know I can do well…there’s really no reason why I can’t. I played a practice round on Monday with Tony Finau and six holes with Phil Mickelson. They are world-class players obviously, but watching them, they do not hit it any better than most of us in the field.”

“It’s my fifth major. It’s great to qualify, but this is the reason we play golf – end of the day we all want to be playing the biggest tournaments in the world and for me, and for every other British lad, this is the biggest tournament in the world.”

The post MENA Tour stars ready for Open examination at Royal Portrush appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The MENA Tour has set itself the lofty goal of becoming the best little mini-tour in the world. With five members present and past en-route to the final major of the year, the regional developmental circuit is clearly on track.

Mid-season Order of Merit (OOM) leaders Matthew Baldwin (professional) and 18-year-old Curtis Knipes (amateur) are the latest to punch their tickets to the 148th Open Championship after advancing through final qualifying.

The Englishmen will join former MENA Tour winners Jazz Janewattananond (Thailand) and Robert MacIntyre (Scotland) at Royal Portrush from July 18 after they qualified by winning the Singapore Open and courtesy of a top-20 Race to Dubai ranking respectively.

England’s Callum Shinkwin, who won the MENA Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic Shootout in January and also qualified for Abu Dhabi’s European Tour stop, will also tee it up in Northern Ireland.  Shinkwin and Knipes topped the Final Qualifying tournament at Prince’s in Kent while Baldwin earned one of the 12 final spots and his fifth major championship start by finishing third at St Annes Old Links.

“This is a historic moment for the MENA Tour,” said David Spencer, a strategic advisor to the Middle East circuit.

“We have set out with the objective of creating the finest development Tour in the world, and these are moments which help us rededicate ourselves to the cause with a new zeal.”

Baldwin currently leads the MENA Tour’s Journey To Jordan (OOM) by $2,530 over Frenchman Robin Roussel. The Southport 33-year-old led at St Annes Old Links with a superb seven-under par 65 opening round. He then rounded off with a two-under par 70 to finish on nine-under par, good enough for a solo third place.

Matthew Baldwin

Chelmsford teen Knipes, who enjoys a healthy lead of nearly 1,670 points over Josh Hill in the MENA Tour’s amateur Journey to Jordon race, shot 67 in the morning at Prince’s and followed it up with a 68 in the afternoon. Shinkwin started with a 70 but was brilliant in the afternoon as he returned a card of 65 to also finish -9.

Janewattananond, who won the 2017 Mahasamutr Open in his homeland,  is one of the MENA Tour’s shining lights. The 23-year-old Thai is up to a giddy 52nd in the Official World Golf Rankings after securing his third and fourth Asian Tour titles this season at the Singapore and Korean Opens, the former securing his place in The Open.

The Open will be the former teen prodigy’s third major championship start. He missed the cut at last year’s Open at Carnoustie but impressed with his swashbuckling game at the PGA Championship in mid-May, rounds of 70-68-67 earning him a spot in the penultimate final round two-ball at Bethpage Black. Sadly he slid to a share of 14th following a Sunday 77 but showed the undoubted class first evidenced globally in 2010 when he became the youngest player – at 14 years and 71 days – to make a halfway cut in an Asian Tour event at the Asian Tour International. 

MacIntyre qualified for this month’s 148th Open Championship courtesy of being one of the first five players in the top-20 Race to Dubai rankings who hadn’t already qualified for Royal Portrush.

The second half of the 10-event MENA Tour schedule for 2019 begins with the Journey to Jordan-2 championship at Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba, Jordan, from September 29.

The post Five MENA Tour players, including 18-year-old amateur, to tee it up in 148th Open Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

When the MENA Tour was launched in 2011, the remit was to provide a leg-up to golf’s big time for fledging young professionals and ideally inspire home-grown amateurs to the game’s highest echelons.

When the regional Pro-Am circuit was re-launched in February as the ‘Journey to Jordan’ following a 16-month restructure, those noble ambitions hadn’t changed. Indeed, they have been emboldened with the hope that the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on offer during the 10-tournament schedule, not to mention a plethora of invites to events on bigger tours, will help players from the region qualify for Tokyo 2020 and Olympic Games beyond.

Time will be the ultimate judge of the circuit’s bid to become the “best little mini-tour in the world” but halfway through the 2019 season, it is fair to say the order of merit leader doesn’t exactly fit the player profile envisaged at any stage of strategic planning.

Not that the tour nor Matthew Baldwin are grumbling. The 33-year-old Englishman has been a European Tour regular since 2012 but after losing his card last season has found the MENA Tour a perfect pitstop for a career at the crossroads.

By winning the second of two Q-Schools and then the first event of the season proper – the Journey to Jordan-1 – Baldwin has given himself a confidence injection heading into the new Challenge Tour season. He’s also earned a bonus €6,919 after finishing T-45 at the recent Oman Open and will get another European Tour to start at the Trophee Hassan II in Rabat later this month courtesy of his consistency during the MENA Tour’s spring swing.

“It’s been a good decision to come and play the MENA Tour. The opportunities you get are exceptional,” Baldwin said. “Having played on the European Tour for several years and then to lose my card, to be able to come here and have a chance to play events like the Oman Open and Morocco is fantastic. I’d happily recommend the MENA Tour to anyone.”

It’s a win-win for the MENA Tour too as the quality Baldwin has displayed gives the likes of rookie, Dubai-based amateurs Arjun Gupta, Toby Bishop and Josh Hill, all 14, a lofty marker to aim for.

“They’ve really played well, 14-year-olds coming out to play with the big boys as it were,” said MENA Tour Tournament Director Wayne Johnson.

“They performed fantastically well, especially Josh who, every week he was making cuts, he was finishing in the top 20 and we saw that [reflected] in his world ranking points, how he jumped up the ladder. I think the future is very bright for those three players and also we saw Shergo [Al Kurdi] from Jordan come on board, he played very well, [Englishmen] Jack Floydd and Curtis Knipes all played excellent golf and I think we’ll see some really good performance from the amateurs throughout the summer season off the back of this.”

Johnson is quietly chuffed with the progress made in the first half of the new-look season – including the record 125 players who entered Q-School – and hailed the low scoring.

“Our cuts ranged from -1 to +1 so in terms of the standard, the standard improved dramatically.”

Even so, Johnson and co. won’t be resting over the summer break ahead of the circuit’s resumption at the $100,000 Journey to Jordan-2 event in late September.  Every detail is being looked at, right down to the range balls which the tour has decided it will now provide at each venue to lift standards.

“The first half of the season showed us little things we can improve upon. I think we’d already solved a few problems; we had two referees per event which worked well, the live scoring I think we can improve upon as we get to the second half of the season,” Johnson said.

“But all-in-all I think we pretty much accomplished what we wanted to achieve in the first half. The second half is trying to build upon that – there are going to be some other incentives the guys can strive for in terms of invitations to play European Tour and Challenge Tour and Asian Tour events – and set up the season for 2020.”

Frenchman Robin Roussel, who won the Royal Golf Bahrain Open and currently sits second in the OOM, has certainly appreciated the attention to detail.

“With the Challenge Tour season not beginning until the end of April really, I wanted to make sure that I had a good preseason and played a few tournaments to be in match shape. I’d heard a lot about the MENA Tour from my friends and decided it fitted well in my schedule. Now, if you ask me, I could not have made a better choice,” Roussel said.

“I loved every minute of my stay in the Middle East. The tournaments were very well organised, the weather everywhere was awesome and the golf courses were world-class. And on top of everything, I played well, too. I could not have asked for a better start to my season.”

Roussel swapped Europen Tour invites with Baldwin and while he missed the cut at the recent Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur due to playing almost six weeks non-stop, is grateful for the opportunity.

“We all want to play tournaments like the Maybank and I am thankful to MENA Tour for giving me that chance. I definitely want to play a few tournaments later in the year. That depends on my Challenge Tour schedule, but I definitely want to come back.”

So too does Baldwin.

“To lead the Journey To Jordan at this stage is great, but I’d love to win it at the end of the season. I am not sure of my schedule for the latter half of the year and it would depend on how I am placed on the Challenge Tour. But I’d definitely love to play at Ayla Golf Club again, where I don’t seem to have done too badly.”

The post MID-TERM REPORT: The MENA Tour’s giant (mini-tour) strides appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

A closing 68 saw the 32-year-old South African double the two-stroke advantage he took into the final round at Dubai Hills Golf Club to win by four from Englishman Matthew Baldwin and seal his third victory on the regional Pro-Am circuit.

The $13,500 payday saw Keyser jump to second in the Journey to Jordan race with $23,650 after four of five spring swing events – $3350 behind money list leader Baldwin.

The top five players heading into the Troon-Series – Royal Golf Bahrain Open beginning Monday – Baldwin, Keyser, Daniel Gaunt (Australia), Nick Marsh (England) and Erik Jonasson (Sweden) – could emerge top of the Spring Swing which carries an invite to the European Tour’s Maybank Championship in Malaysia (Mar. 21-24).

It’s not just the Malaysia Open invite that will have the leaders on tenterhooks; the top five players at the conclusion of the 54-hole Bahrain Open on Wednesday will be rewarded with the second placed player headed to the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco (April 25-29), third to the new Jordan Mixed Open at Ayla G.C. (April 4-6) while Asian Tour invites to the Indonesian Masters (July 4-7) and Indonesian Open (Aug. 15-18) await the fourth and fifth-placed players respectively.

Keyser already has a Challenge Tour start at the Slovakia Challenge (July 4-7) to look forward to after outlasting Baldwin (70) and Frenchman Antoine Schwartz (72).

#LiveUpdates

Troon Series – Dubai Open presented by @T_A_Golf@KeyserMG – our champion!#HBFS #JourneyToJordan pic.twitter.com/80cReezscJ

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) March 7, 2019

“It’s a great feeling. I have won at least once every year since 2016 and it is great to get a ‘W’ so early in the year. This is going to do be great for my season,” said the Jumeirah Golf Estates-attached Keyser.

“I knew it would be difficult to follow the 61 with a low round again. So, I told myself to just avoid making any bogeys and then I’d be hard to catch, especially if the wind picks up. And that’s exactly what happened.

Keyser’s couldn’t quite go bogey-free after dropping a shot on the Dubai Hills’ 13th but had five birdies to finish on 19-under par 197

“Both Matthew and Antoine were playing very well and it got tight towards the end. But that birdie on the 17th was the deal-sealer. It was a nice, low-spinning four-iron there. I have just changed my shafts in my irons and the new ones really helped me out there in the wind.”

Baldwin, winner of the B Stage of Qualifying School and Journey To Jordan-1, the inaugural event of the 2019 season, kept it interesting until the end before an unfortunate bogey on the difficult par-3 17th hole proved crucial.

The 32-year-old from Southport had a poor third hole where he made a double bogey, but did not give up. He kept chipping at Keyser’s lead and on the 17th tee, the duo was separated by just one shot.

But Baldwin’s three-iron tee shot got caught in the stiff headwind and came up short, wedged in the rocks fronting the water. He had to take a drop and made a bogey. On the other hand, Keyser smashed a 4-iron safely to 25 feet and made the putt to go ahead by three.

A bogey by Baldwin on the last hole, where Keyser laid up into the fairway bunker and then hit a beautiful third shot to three feet, ensured the final score.

Baldwin may have lost the chance to win a second title this season, but he was pleased for Keyser and also the way he fought back from the double bogey on the third hole.

“It was not to be today and MG played great golf, but at least I pushed him until the 17th hole,” said the Englishman who continues to lead the Journey To Jordan (Order of Merit).

BITE-SIZE INTERVIEW
(With Matt Baldwin)@MattBaldwin26 put up a stunning fight despite an early double bogey in the final round of the Troon Series – Dubai Open presented by @T_A_Golf.

He talks about his day and the incident at the 17th hole…#HBFS #JourneyToJordan pic.twitter.com/Nh1NNy2UTH

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) March 7, 2019

“I was first up on the 17th and I knew it was a three-iron for me but not sure if it was a full three-iron or a knock-down. The double at third was all right. I had a lot of golf to play after that and I did manage to come back from that.”

In the Amateur category, there was a tie at the top between England’s Ben Davies (73) and compatriot Jack Floydd (72) at four-under par 212.

Troon Series Dubai Open presented by Turkish Airlines – FINAL SCORE (par-72)
197 – MG Keyser (RSA) 68-61-68
201 – Matthew Baldwin (ENG) 68-63-70
203 – Antoine Schwartz (FRA) 62-69-72
205 – Henric Sturehed (SWE) 73-63-69
206 – Harry Ellis (ENG) 76-64-66
207 – Robert Harrhy (ENG) 71-66-70, Victor Riu (FRA) 69-68-70, Ryan Evans (ENG) 70-65-72
208 – Lionel Weber (FRA) 71-69-68, Benjamin David (ENG) 67-72-69
209 – Stefan Still (GER) 69-72-68, Jack McDonald (SCO) 72-68-69, Christopher Mivis (BEL) 72-67-70, Scott Henry (SCO) 68-70-71, Robin Roussel (FRA) 71-67-71
210 – Daniel Hendry (SCO) 72-69-69, Clemens Prader (AUT) 70-68-72, Erik Jonasson (SWE) 72-66-72, Todd Clements (ENG) 69-68-73, Luke Joy (ENG) 68-69-73
211 – Joshua White (ENG) 72-71-68, Richard Bland (ENG) 71-71-69, James Allan (ENG) 72-68-71, Peter Stojanovski (MAC) 68-71-72, Craig Ross (SCO) 67-71-73, Zane Scotland (ENG) 68-70-73, Tom Shadbolt (ENG) 69-69-73, Jake Ayres (ENG) 68-69-74, Leo Lilja (ESP) 71-66-74

The post Keyser’s Dubai Open triumph sets up thrilling spring swing finale in Bahrain appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Matthew Baldwin’s week away from the MENA Tour couldn’t have gone much better.

Playing the European Tour’s Oman Open as reward for winning the MENA Tour’s season-opening Journey to Jordan-1, the 33-year-old Englishman pocketed €6,919 for a T-45 finish following a tough, weather-impacted week at Al Mouj Golf.

After a 70 to share 15th place following the opening round, the former European Tour regular would have eyed a higher finish in Muscat but wasn’t grumbling with rounds of 75-71-77 given the blustery conditions. He eventually finished on +5, 12 shots behind impressive American winner Kurt Kitayama.

Perhaps best of all, Baldwin has maintained pole-position in the race within the MENA Tour’s season-long Order of Merit (OOM) race to keep alive hopes of another European Tour start at the end of the month. But only just; the $18,000 he’s won from two starts to top the moneylist is a narrow $275 advantage over Australian Daniel Gaunt.

The leader of the MENA Tour OOM after the five-event ‘spring swing’ concludes in Bahrain next week will earn an invite to the $3 million Maybank Championship (March 21-24). That is all the motivation Baldwin needs on the eve of the $75,000 Troon Series – Dubai Open presented by Turkish Airlines at Dubai Hills Golf Club

With $13,500, three precious Official World Golf Ranking points and an invite to the Challenge Tour’s Slovakia Challenge (July 4-7) also up for grabs to the champion at this week’s 54-holer at Dubai Hills, Baldwin and co have much to play for.

Another great week for @OmanOpenGolf at Al Mouj Golf Club. Thanks very much to @theMENATour for the opportunity to play. Looking forward to pegging it up again this week at Dubai Hills! #OmanOpen #europeantour #menatour

— Matthew Baldwin (@mattbaldwin26) March 3, 2019

Gaunt, who finished solo fifth at Ghala after his emotional win in Ajman a fortnight ago, brings impressive form to the region’s newest course while Baldwin’s countryman Nick Marsh ($14,006) has also thrown his name into the Kuala Lumpur equation by winning last week’s Ghala Golf Club Open.

It’s not just the Malaysia Open invite that will have the leaders on tenterhooks; the top five players at the end of the spring swing will be rewarded with the second placed player headed to the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco (April 25-29), third to the new Jordan Mixed Open at Ayla G.C. (April 4-6) while Asian Tour invites to the Indonesian Masters (July 4-7) and Indonesian Open (Aug. 15-18) await the fourth and fifth-placed players respectively.

As well as the inevitable OOM snakes and ladders this week, there will be much interest in the performance of U.S.-bound Dubai amateur Rayhan Thomas who will make his second start of the season after a T-9 finish at the Troon Series-Al Zorah Open.

The 19-year-old, headed to Rickie Fowler’s old Oklahoma State University later in the year, described his golf in Ajman as “mediocre” despite the top-10.

“I am happy to be the leading amateur, but I obviously wanted to win the tournament. I know I could have contended for the title this week. It would have been nice to start the season with a win in your third tournament of the year,” Thomas said.

Thomas will undoubtedly serve as a marker for Englishman Curtis Knipes who leads the Amateur Order of Merit with 4442 points – 1667 points clear of Dubai-based 14-year-old Josh Hill.

Just like for Baldwin, the MENA Tour is also working for the Knipes and Hill given the World Amateur Golf Ranking points on offer.

Following the Troon Series – Al Zorah Open, Curtis Knipes and Josh Hill have achieved their highest-ever ranking on the @WAGR

And we are sure this is just the start of a long journey for these two talented amateurs.
#HarderBetterFasterStronger#JourneyToJordan pic.twitter.com/ertTETC7Y6

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) March 1, 2019

A total of 11 amateurs will tee it up in the Dubai Open which begins Tuesday with a 120-strong field.

Our #JourneyToJordan (Order of Merit) right now:
1.@mattbaldwin26
2.@Gauntgolf
3.@NickMarshgolf
4.E Jonasson
5.@RobinRoussel

These are the invites waiting after Bahrain.
1.Maybank C’ship
2.Trophee Hassan II
3.Jordan Mixed Open
4.@IndoMasters
5.Indonesian Open#HBFS

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) March 1, 2019

The post After making the cut in Oman, Baldwin eyes quick European Tour return as MENA Tour heads to Dubai Hills appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.