The 27-year-old Swede started the penultimate round of the Pro-Am circuit’s 15-event season five ahead courtesy of a course record 63 on Tuesday and extended the buffer with a third round 67 at Al Zorah G.C.

Sturehed is -18 through 54-holes with Andrew Marshall (-11) seven back after a 69 and English compatriot Jamie Elson (-9) nine adrift following a 70. More importantly, Elson retains pole-position for the overall title with his closest rival Luke Joy -5 after a 72 and Swede Fredrik From, third in the order of merit rankings heading into the week, -7 following a 70.

Former major champions Michael Campbell and Darren Clarkem, the latter the MENA Tour’s patron, visited Al Zorah Wednesday and will have been mightly impressed by Sturehed scoring. Playing partner Marshall certainly is.

“He is a superb talent,” Marshall said of Sturehed who notched up six of his seven birdies (against two bogeys) Wednesday on the front nine to effectively slam the door on his rivals. “I’m very impressed with his game. He is strong off the tee and accurate with his irons. He has great potential and I absolutely believe he will go far,”

Marshall signed for a third round 69.

Sturehed will understandably stick to a tried method in the final round.

“My game plan is to just play my game and try and make as many birdies possible, and the rest will take care of itself,”

Taylor Carter birdied two of his final three holes as he shot a two-under 70 to stay atop in the amateur division on four-under, two strokes clear of fellow Englishman Sam Hobday with Todd Clements lurking a further back on one-under.

Full scores here 

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Two-back overnight, Sturehed rattled off eight birdies and a chip-in eagle to move to -13 at the season-decider in Ajman and open up a healthy five stroke lead over Englishman Andrew Marshall (66).

The season-long title race is suddenly a lot more spicy after Joy signed for a 69 to move from a share of 9th overnight into a share of 5th with Slovenia’s Tim Gornik and Swede Fredrik From, the latter an outside chance at the order-of-merit (OOM) title.

Joy is now just two shots behind Jamie Elson after the overnight leader and OOM pole-sitter carded a one-under 71 to fall into a share of third at -7 with Canadian Lindsay Renolds.

Related: Who needs to do what to win the MENA Tour

With 36-holes remaining, the equation is simple for Joy. If he goes on to win, the MENA Tour title, three European Tour starts, an invite to the PGA Tour’s Dean & Deluca Invitational, a Sunshine Tour card and a place in final qualifying for the Asian Tour is his. If Joy finishes second or third, Elson would need to finish no better than 4th or 6th respectively while Joy would still need a top three finish if Elson slips outside the top 10.

Sturehed backed up his opening 68 with a nine-under second round that included a chip-in eagle three on the 4th after his six-iron from 218 yards finished just off the green, a solitary bogey at the 8th before three successive birdies to finish.

“Conditions were a bit tougher today because of cross winds, but I had a good, solid day,” said the 27-year-old Swede.

“You never know tomorrow holds as there are many good players in the field and anything can happen. I need to stick to my game plan and keep the feel-good vibes going.”

Defending champion Tyler Hogarty, (South Africa) tied for second overnight, fell into a tie for 17th after returning a 77 while England’s Jake Shepherd kept himself in the frame for a strong finish, taking a share of 8th after posting a 69.

The English duo of Zane Scotland and Lee Corfield, who between them share 14 MENA Tour titles, are T-22 on +1 while Craig Hinton, the winner of the 2016 Order of Merit title, occupied tT-40 on +6, 150.

Taylor Carter returned a 69 to join fellow Englishman Sam Hobday at the top of the amateur division on -2 as overnight joint leader Todd Clements slipped to +1 after a 76.

Click here for full MENA Tour Championship scores

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Frustrated with his one-over-par finish for a share of 34th place at the Saraha Kuwait Golf Championship last week, the 36-year-old Englishman knuckled down on the range over the weekend and was rewarded with a pace-setting six-under 66 at the MENA Tour Championship.

Elson leads by one from defending champion Tyler Hogarty (South Africa) but more importantly opened up a four shot buffer over his nearest rival for the OOM title, compatriot Luke Joy, on a perfect day for scoring at Al Zorah G.C.

The overall title will be Elson’s if he wins this week, finishes in the top three providing Joy doesn’t win or if Joy finishes outside the top 5.

Related: Who needs to do what to win the MENA Tour title

Joy was T-9 overnight but with 54-holes to play, this is far from over.

“I had a bad week in Kuwait that probably helped me focus better. My preparations for this week were certainly much better,” Elon said afterwards. “I hope I can keep the momentum going all the way through.”

Elson opened with three birdies in his first six holes and then made amends for a bogey on the 7th with a bounce-back gain on the 8th before rattling off three homeward birdies.

“I felt in complete control of my game which was good. Missed a couple of putts here and there, but overall played good golf.

“If you’re playing well, this course can offer you plenty of scoring opportunities. I made just one bogey which shows I was pretty accurate with my game out there.”

Tyler Hogarty

Hogarty, a shot clear of Sweden’s Henric Sturehed who opened up with a 68, equally pleased with his opening round.

“I began with a birdie and finished with a birdie, which was quite pleasing. Everything about the about the course, from fairways to greens, is just perfect,” said Hogarty.

Todd Clements cruised to his familiar place at the top of the amateur leaderboard ilong with fellow Englishman Sam Hobday after a 67 that included five birdies and three bogeys. England’s Taylor Carter was a further four shots back, one clear of India’s Arkesh Bhatia on a day when 21 players broke par.

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Elson had a 10,033 point lead over Joy heading into the penultimate event of the 15-tournament campaign but collected just $394 (and thus points) for a share of 34th place at the Sahara Kuwait Golf Championship, a paltry return for three days hard work.

Joy, meanwhile, banked 6000 greenbacks and as many points for his solo-second finish behind Scot Robert MacIntyre at Saraha Golf & Country Club in Kuwait City. It all means Joy is just 4427 points adrift of Elson heading to Ajman where the $100,000 purse doubles the amount of points normally available.

Victory at Al Zorah would give either Elson or Joy the money title, regardless of where the other finishes. Elson will also get the chequered flag with a top three finish providing Joy places no better than second.

Destiny is, therefore, in Elson’s hands but Joy, fresh from back-to-back runner-up finishes (he lost to Elson in a playoff for the inaugural AYLA Championship in Jordan) sniffs a chance.

“Even though I didn’t get the win [in Kuwait] it was great to be in contention again for the second consecutive week and put some more money on the OOM [order-of-merit] board going into next week’s Tour championship in Ajman,” Joy said. “I’m very happy with how the game is holding up and very much looking forward to getting stuck in next week and see if we can build on the past two weeks.”

Swede Fredrik From and Englishman Andrew Marshall are also still in the fight for the money title and the potentially career-altering opportunities including three European Tour starts, an invite to the PGA Tour’s Dean and Deluca Invitational, a Sunshine Tour card and a place in the final stage of Asian Tour Q-School.

But at 12,084 adrift points adrift, From would need to win at Al Zorah and hope Elson can place no better than 5th and Joy no better than 3rd. Marshall, 14,772 points back, would also need victory and for Joy to finish no better than 4th and Elson no better than 7th.

Here’s the permutations for the top 5 in the order-of-merit race leading into the 72-hole Tour Championship starting Monday:

1. Jamie Elson (England) – Current points: 32,847

– Will win overall title with victory at the Tour Championship
– Wins title with a top three providing Joy finishes no better than 2nd
– If Joy finishes outside the top five, Elson wins title regardless of his finishing position

[divider] [/divider]

2. Luke Joy (England) – Current points 28,420

– Will win overall title with victory at the Tour Championship
– If Joy finishes second, Elson would need to finish no better than 4th
– A third place finish for Joy would mean Elson would have to finish no better than 6th
– If Elson finishes outside top 10, Joy would still need a top three placing to be crowned MENA Tour champion.

[divider] [/divider]

3. MG Keyser (South Africa) – Current points 18,774

– Despite winning back-to-back titles, is not eligible for Tour championship as has only played three events this year. Only the leading 50 professionals and top 10 amateurs who have played at least seven events are eligible.

[divider] [/divider]

4. Fredrik From (Sweden) – Current points 22, 763

Fredrik Form

– To win title would need victory and Elson to finish no better than 6th and Joy no better than 3rd.

[divider] [/divider]

5. Andrew Marshall (England) – Current points 18, 075

– To win title would need victory and Elson to finish no better than 7th and Joy no better than 4th.

[divider] [/divider]

And here’s what’s on the line after the final calculations are done at Al Zorah:

1st
Invites to:
Dean & Deluca Invitational (PGA Tour)
Omega Dubai Desert Classic, Maybank Championship, Hassan II Trophee (European Tour)
Full 2018 card for Sunshine Tour*
Full 2018 card for Asian Development Tour
Asian Tour – Final stage of Q-School

2nd
Invites to:
Omega Dubai Desert Classic, KLM Open (European Tour)
Full 2018 card for Sunshine Tour*
Full 2018 card for Asian Development Tour
Asian Tour – Final stage of Q-School

3rd
Omega Dubai Desert Classic (European Tour)
Full 2018 card for Sunshine Tour*
Full 2018 card for Asian Development Tour
Asian Tour – Final stage of Q-School

4th and 5th
Full 2018 card for Sunshine Tour*

6th to 15th
Sunshine Tour – Final stage of Q-School

Top MENA National
Invite to:
Omega Dubai Desert Classic

Top 60
Mena Tour exemption for 2018

*Pre-qualifying required for Sunshine Tour/European Tour co-sanctioned tournaments.

The post Who needs to do what to win the MENA Tour title? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 21-year-old Walker Cup representative rallied from a shot back overnight with seven birdies in a closing 65 to capture the Sahara Kuwait Golf Championship on Wednesday in just his second start as a professional.

MacIntyre (65-66-65) finished -14 at Sahara Golf and Country Club to edge Luke Joy (64-67-67) by two shots and become the 13th first-time winner on the developmental Pro-Am circuit this year – an astonishing number given we are 14 events into a 15 tournament schedule and one of the first timers, South African MG Keyser, went on to win back-to-back titles at The Creek and The Els Club Dubai.

It was the Joy’s second runner-up finish in as many events and has put the Englishman squarely back in the frame for the overall Order-of-Merit title heading into next week’s MENA Tour Championship at Al Zorah G.C. in Ajman.

Related: Who needs to do what to win the MENA Tour money title?

“Absolutely delighted with my efforts, a memorable week for me, indeed,” said MacIntyre who had a win, loss and a half for Great Britian and Ireland in a 19-7 loss to the U.S. at last month’s Walker Club in Los Angeles.

“It was fun playing on the MENA Tour. The competition is great and so is the atmosphere and I look forward to playing more events next season.”

MacIntyre is flanked by Yousef Abdulaziz Al Qatami and Wael Abdulrahman Al Welayti, both members of the Sahara Kuwait’s golf advisory committee, at the prize giving.

The Oban product, the first left-hander in living memory to win the Scottish Amateur in 2015 and a runner-up in The (British) Amateur the following year, gave a hint of his obvious talent at the AYLA Golf Championship in Jordan a fortnight ago, recovering from an opening 78 in his very first round as a pro with a course-record 64 to finish third. He’s a combined 25 under par for his last five rounds.

“I played golf the way as I used to as an amateur and never let the pressure of turning pro affect my game,” said MacIntyre, the fourth Scotsman after Paul Doherty, Clarke Lutton and David Law to win a MENA Tour event. “It [Sahara GCC] is a nice golf course with narrow fairways. You needed to be accurate off the tee and I drove the ball well all week, creating some good scoring opportunities. I holed putts when I needed to and that was the key to my success.”

Delighted with my start to the new job ? huge thanks to @theMENATour for the 2 invites will never forget where it all started. #higlander pic.twitter.com/9bgZWZ0ie8

— Robertmacintyre (@robert1lefty) October 18, 2017

Meanwhile, England’s Todd Clements comfortably kept up his white-hot form to win the amateur division for the fifth time in a row on five-under 205, two shots ahead of Switzerland’s Dubai-based Michael Harradine. It’s a stunning run that has virtually assured the reigning English Amateur Champion of the amateur OOM title.

The leading 50 professionals and top 10 amateurs on the OOM earn starts in the 72-hole Tour Championship starting Monday. MacIntyre is not eligible as he falls five events short of the mandatory seven required to tee it up in Ajman.

Sahara Kuwait Golf Championship Amateur Champion – @ClementsTodd pic.twitter.com/XLcOM7uDEZ

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) October 18, 2017

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