Montgomerie Golf Club Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

The Gulf Club: All the latest golf news from around the UAE

Matt Smith — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 11:44:13 +0000

Jumeirah Golf Estates

Backhouse and Hodgkins claim the Curry Club crown
The Thursday Curry Club at Jumeirah Golf Estates continues to heat up as a record 48 players took part in the latest edition, with Tim Backhouse and Adam Hodgkins taking the plaudits with a a net 29 (seven-under).
Taking place over the front nine on the Fire course in the Pairs Scramble format. Backhouse and Hodgkins had five gross birdies to secure the victory.
In second place was JGE’s own Adam Stastny and Mark Castell on 30. T pair of David Warham and Richard Green were third on 31.

Montgomerie Golf Club

Landmark at Montgomerie
Nick Dulley, Lee Jackson, Daniel Brocklebank and Andy Whittle conjured up a round to tell the grandkids about at the Montgomerie Golf Club Monthly Scramble. The quartet joined the 59 Club with a gross 13-under par, and obviously, claimed top spot ahead of Paul Love, Brian Stewart, Ciaran Coakley and Richie Keating

Trump Dubai

Rayan and Aoife Trump the field
The EGF-sanctioned Trump Dubai Summer Open finally took place over the weekend with Rayan Ahmed taking the Men’s title and Aoife Kelly winning the Women’s crown. Golf Digest Middle East Stay & Play 2023 champ Craig Vance and Ahmed Naim finished tied second in the men’s event, with Jamie Roslyn Camero just missing out to Kelly in the Women’s competition.

Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club

In the driving seat
A field of more than 30 golfers took part in the Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club BMW Open Social. The pair of Jumadi Bin Husani and Zein Ismail took top prize in the four-ball better-ball format.

Dubai Hills

Family affair at Dubai Hills
Lee I’Ons claimed the Mens Division Round 3 of the MMI Summer Series Stableford at Dubai Hills, while his wife Tanya made it a double celebration by taking home the Ladies Division.

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Two Saudi amateur golfers qualify for World Final of Race to Georgia

Matt Smith — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 06:10:21 +0000

The Regional Grand Final of the Race to Georgia took place at the Montgomerie Golf Club, Dubai. More than 80 players from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE were in action after 17 Qualifying Rounds over the golf season that attracted over 1,400 amateur golfers, for the Regional Grand Final.

The three winners of the respective divisions qualify for the Race to Georgia World Final in the US in April, along with an opportunity to be a Patron at The Masters to be held April 6-9.

The format was 18 hole Stableford with 75 per cent handicap allowance.

Division A winner was Saudi golfer, Hisham Sultan (The Els Club, Dubai, handicap 3) who shot 39 points. He had nines of gross 37 and 35 at the Montgomerie with five gross birdies to shoot the equivalent of a gross level par 72.

Nicholas Deepak (Meydan, The Track) off an 18 handicap also shot 39 points to win Division B.

Deepak shot 87 in the Regional Grand Final for a four-point winning margin.

The Sponsors Division won by another Saudi golfer, Zeid Alireza (handicap 4) with 33 Stableford points.

Regional Grand Final winner, Hisham Sultan, said: “To win this trip to the US is a dream come true. I won’t be able to sleep tonight. I am looking forward to playing in the World Final as well as attending The Masters – it is certainly on my bucket list.”

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Inspirational art: After 27 years in prison, wrongfully convicted Valentino Dixon realises a dream in Dubai

Matt Smith — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 10:17:50 +0000

By Matt Smith
Valentino Dixon endured a living hell most of us could not even begin to fathom.

The now 54-year-old had spent more than 27 years in jail convicted of murder — locked up inside one of America’s most brutal maximum security prisons for a crime he didn’t commit, before he was allowed to walk away a free man 2018, exonerated of any crime after the real perpetrator confessed.

With a few magazine photos for inspiration — Dixon had written to Golf Digest asking for help, explaining how drawing golf courses had become a needed diversion — he spent his time in Attica prison drawing, perfecting his style over the many, many years with only some pieces of card and a few pencils to create his artwork. Wonderful, unique depictions of famous courses such as Augusta, Pebble Beach and the Country Club in Brookline emerged over the years — as did some of the most famous courses in Dubai, a place that had found a special place in Dixon’s heart.

Valentino Dixon. Mark Mathew/Golf Digest Middle East

While Dixon’s wrongful conviction, and Golf Digest’s part in his eventual release is absorbing, emotional and well documented, the man has finally achieved one of his dreams five years after his walk to freedom — visiting the courses in Dubai that he drew in prison to help him cling on to hope of one day seeing the outside world.

On Tuesday, Dixon visited Golf Digest Middle East’s offices in Dubai while on a tour to visit those courses that helped him through his darkest times — from the Address Montgomerie and Dubai Creek to Jebel Ali, Emirates Golf Club to Arabian Ranches — and talk about his journey.

Valentino Dixon. Mark Mathew/Golf Digest Middle East

“In prison you live in a dream sometimes, you live in your own world,” he told me, his eyes repeatedly drawn to the windows of our 33rd floor office, admiring the towers and the views of the ocean. “And you look for anything that can give you inspiration. Something that can give you hope, something that can invigorate your spirit. And looking at pictures of Dubai during my time, it had to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life, even though I was seeing it through a magazine.

“While I was drawing these other golf courses, I said to myself: ‘I might as well draw the most beautiful place on the planet,’ which is Dubai, in my opinion. This is why I drew these seven pictures of these golf courses right here. And this is why I am here today.”

Pick up the December issue of Golf Digest Middle East to read the full interview with Valentino Dixon

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