The impressive American golfer held a significant lead over nearest challengers David Puig of Spain and Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent going into the Hong Kong Open, and the 25-year-old knew the title would be secured barring any disasters, with one of his rivals realistically having to win outright at the Hong Kong Golf Club to stand any chance.

In the end, Ogletree carded a final-round 69 for a -12 total, level with International Series Singapore champion Puig who shot a final round 68, while Vincent ultimately finished five strokes further back on seven under after a five-under round of 65.

Ogletree, a winner of The International Series events in Qatar and England this season, has now secured a spot on the lucrative LIV Golf League next season as Order of Merit champion, following in the footsteps of Scott Vincent, last year’s overall champion.

He said: “It’s awesome! I am so excited to win the Order of Merit. It’s been a lot of hard work this year and a lot of great golf has gone into this. I just want to thank everyone that’s gotten me to this point: the Asian Tour for all that they’ve done, and my team back home for allowing me to play the way I’ve played this year. I couldn’t be more excited, and I can’t wait to play LIV next year.

“I’ll definitely play a few events on The International Series along with all the LIV events that I’m going to play, so next year should be a great year and I just can’t wait to get started.”

Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & CEO of the Asian Tour said: “Andy has played some outstanding golf this year and has been head and shoulders above his peers on The International Series. The way he has worked his way back to the top after some injuries has been very admirable and it’s a testament to his hard work and determination. It can’t have been easy for him to travel halfway across the world to play the Asian Tour and we are glad to have him as our International Series Order of Merit Champion.”

Rahul Singh, Head of The International Series, said: “Andy is a worthy champion and an outstanding ambassador for The International Series. As an emerging young international player, competing in this series of marquee Asian Tour events and wonderful venues around the world, he has exemplified what The International Series is all about.

“His example shows the pathway that is open and available to top golfing talent from all over the world, an opportunity we are committed to delivering on The International Series, and we look forward to seeing him play in the LIV Golf League as well as future events on The International Series.”

This year’s Hong Kong Open was won in thrilling style by Ben Campbell. The International Series, a set of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour, now heads to Jakarta for the final event on the schedule, the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by Tunas Niaga Energi from 16-19 November.

The post Ogletree confirmed as The International Series Order of Merit champion appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Emirati lefty Ahmad Skaik will proudly create history at next month’s Dubai Trophy but his ambition extends well beyond the Ryder Cup-style matches

By Kent Gray
In these extraordinary times, amateur golfers everywhere have had far too much time to reflect on tough lessons learned and glories past. Thankfully, Ahmad Skaik finally has some decent competition on the horizon to get him excited about the game again.

Things were going swimmingly for the ambitious 23-year-old Emirati before the coronavirus pandemic tilted the golfing world on its axis. The +3-handicapper had qualified for his maiden European Tour start at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January and followed up that eye-opening experience with victories at the UAE Presidents Cup (with a record -5 aggregate) and the Montgomerie and Trump Dubai Opens. The latter was particularly sweet as he came back from four shots adrift of Trump member Toby Bishop entering the final round to beat the red-hot Welsh teen in a playoff.

But like everyone else, Skaik suddenly found himself in lockdown and all the momentum lost.

“COVID changed the whole year. It was very frustrating,” Skaik says. “I had a few months of not touching my golf clubs because I had no motivation to practice, like I didn’t have anything to look forward to. I did some online classes with my university and worked hard in the gym and I feel good now with my game. I’m ready for the tournaments to come back.”

The Monty and Trump triumphs have Skaik just 20 points behind pal Dan Byrne in the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) Order of Merit (OOM) race with only the Yas Links (Sept. 11-12) and Al Ain Open’s (Sept. 18-19) to play. Those, and helping the EGF team reach the top division of the UAE Scratch League, are obvious immediate targets for Skaik but it is the Dubai Trophy that him really fizzing.

The 21st edition of the Ryder Cup-style matches will see the EGF’s leading amateurs chase an unprecedented fourth victory over the Luke Plumb-captained UAE PGA Tour pros. It’s already a personal triumph for Skaik who jumped at the opportunity to serve as Steven Kelbrick’s vice-caption for the matches scheduled for October 3-4. It means Skaik is on target to become the first Emirati captain in 2021, a reflection of his growing reputation in the local scene.

“I chose Ahmad because we have played a number of rounds together over last two years where he has shown his constantly improving game, his hard work and his enjoyment for the game and competition. He plays the game in the right way and can be a great UAE ambassador for the game,” says Kelbrick.

Understandably, Skaik is equal parts excited and anxious. At least he has positive experiences to call on for this year and next; his three previous Dubai Trophy appearances have coincided with the amateurs’ historic hat-trick of wins.

“I get nervous just thinking about it but it’s [going to be] an honour to be the captain of a great group of players. I can’t wait for this year’s trophy so I can get an idea on how that feels and learn from it for next year,” said Skaik.

“I’m very happy to be the first Emirati to do it and I hope this inspires the younger generation, especially my younger brother (13-year-old Mohammad who plays off a 19-handicap.)”

Skaik’s European Tour debut in Abu Dhabi revealed he needed more distance off the tee to compete at the highest level. (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Beyond the Dubai Trophy, Skaik is looking forward to getting his International Studies degree at the American University in Dubai done and dusted so he can concentrate in his golf dreams.

“For now, I have to finish university so everything [golf wise] will be in the UAE and a few tournaments outside when I am off uni. But after I finish, I will play maybe one more year then turn pro. That is the goal and I don’t see why I can’t make it if I keep working on the right things and keep my focus.”

It appears the lefty is working on the right things after linking with Claude Harmon III Performance Golf Academy coach Joe Marshall, rather randomly as it turns out.

“I went two years without a coach and my game was up and down so I decided to work with [a coach]. I didn’t know who to pick so I opened the website and said that the first name that pops up to me is the one and that was Joe Marshall.

“Me and Joe have a very good relationship and we understand each other really well. Last season was tough because we made a deal to forget about the results of tournaments and just work on getting my swing together. We changed my grip, tempo of the swing, and length of the swing. My ball striking improved so much since I started working with Joe, my swing is night and day better now than what it was two years ago. I also work with Allister Parlane in the gym and that also had a lot of impact on my game especially with balance and distance off the tee.”

Distance off the tee is just one of the “must improve” aspects Skaik took away from his European Tour debut at Abu Dhabi Golf Club where rounds of 84-85 left him 25-over-par, 26-shots shy of making the cut and under no illusions about the standards required to compete at the highest level.

“I think Abu Dhabi was the best thing that ever happened to me. It took my game to another level because I experienced pressure that I’ve never felt before. Everything else feels like a normal round for me now. I realised that I need to gain a lot of distance off the tee to be able to compete and obviously needed to work on ball striking and my short game more.”

Skaik also realised he needed help with the butterflies churning in his stomach. Cue the arrival of mental coach Steven Thomas to Team Skaik.

“The difference between a good player and a great player is to be able to overcome pressure and adversity and be able to win.

“I think after working with Steve, I am mentally in a better place and I have so much more confidence in myself now and we can see with my results. We work on pre shot routine, how to prepare for a round, and my attitude on the golf course. I think that it helped me a lot. He is the best at it in the UAE in my opinion.”

Best in the UAE. Now there’s a target for Skaik. The refocused left-hander is on his way.

The post Emirati lefty Ahmad Skaik is eyeing Dubai Trophy history…and a pro career appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The MENA Tour deliberately took 16 months between the end of its seventh season in late 2017 and the start of its eight edition in February 2019 to redesign the regional developmental circuit. A further refinement was the decision to condense the current 2020 schedule into essentially three months between late January and mid-April, allowing members the chance to kick-start their year in the Middle East’s best weather before spreading their wings around the world. The MENA Tour suddenly fitted perfectly into golf’s global landscape – until the world suddenly wasn’t the same courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With travel around the G.C.C becoming increasingly challenging, the MENA Tour’s leadership took the decision on March 5 to postpone the final six events of the 11-tournament season until October-November, reintroducing a mid-summer break as was previously the case. Only time will tell what professional golf, much less global sport, will look like come late 2020 and beyond but two things are certain; the MENA Tour deserves praise for acting so decisively and continues to work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a smooth resumption when things get back to the new normal, whenever that is. In the meantime, here’s five mid-season takeaways from the 9th edition of the MENA Tour by Arena.

1) Langley leads
What’s $704 between professional golfers? For David Langley (pictured above), it’s a potentially priceless sum. The 25-year-old Englishmen went into the enforced break atop the Order of Merit (OOM) standings, edging compatriot David Hague to a start in the European Tour’s €2.5 million Trophee Hassan II as a result. At the time of press, the June 4-7 stop in Morocco wasn’t among those postponed by the European Tour meaning Langley, the 2017 Open Championship silver medallist (for low amateur honours), has a shot at quickly adding to the $25,499 he’s banked in his five MENA Tour starts this far. The Stokenchurch pro will take plenty of confidence (if not recent form) to wherever his golf travel takes him next after capturing the season-opening Journey to Jordan 1 Championship before finishing 11th and runner-up in Egypt and Oman respectively. Langley then did just enough to hold off Hague for the Morocco spot after Hague won the Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open before finishing 33rd to Langley’s 38th in the Journey to Jordan 2 Championship, the final event before the postponement. $704? A huge sum in the mini-tour scheme of things.

Bailey Gill teed it up on the European Tour courtesy of the MENA Tour. Photo by Joy Chakravarty

2) Gill (just) sneaks in
The MENA Tour’s remit is to provide fledging professionals opportunities at the next level. Unlike David Langley whose aforementioned, European Tour start in Rabat is up in the air, countryman Bailey Gill at least got to play the Oman Open before the coronavirus shut down golf worldwide, the reward for winning the MENA Tour’s Ghala Open in Oman a week earlier. Rounds of 77-70 meant the 22-year-old English lefty missed the cut at Al Mouj Golf but the big-time experience was no doubt priceless. Gill will resume the MENA Tour in 6th place on the OOM.

Arjun Gupta has ground to make up on amateur oom leader Shergo Al Kurdi. Photo by Joy Chakravarty

3) Al Kurdi has company
After Josh Hill’s breakout 2019 campaign including worldwide fame after winning the Al Ain Open, Shergo Al Kurdi has dominated amateur headlines this season. The Jordanian 16-year-old become the first amateur from the G.C.C. to earn Official World Golf Ranking points after his gusty runner-up finish to Langley at the J2J#1 Championship in late January, a huge step towards realising his 2024 Olympic Games dream. But watch for Arjun Gupta (pictured No.3) in the second half of the season. The Dubai-based Indian is second to Al Kurdi in the amateur OOM and will be buoyed by his 4th placing at the Ghala Open. Gupta’s fellow Els Club Dubai range-rat, Toby Bishop, is another cursing the coronavirus enforced pause after a rich run of domestic form. Bishop, 7th in the MENA Tour amateur OOM, signed for a course record 62 en-route to winning the EGF’s Saadiyat Beach Open before capturing The Els Alliance and then leading the Trump Dubai Open before COVID-19 trumped everything.

George Groves, the WR4GD No.1, in action at the DP World Tour Championship, where he lifted the EDGA Dubai finale trophy last November. Photo by Joy Chakravarty

4) Great determination
Sadly lost in these tumultuous times was the MENA Tour’s trailblazing agreement with the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA). It was set to showcase four players with an official World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) and a handicap of 4.4 or less at the Ras Al Khaimah Open (Tower Links G.C.), the Northern Emirates Open (Al Hamra G.C.) and the Al Ain Classic. Those events were among the six postponed. Here’s hoping the EDGA players are among those on the tee when the MENA Tour resumes.

Englishman David Hague is second behind Langley in the OOM and eyeing the Arena Championship at Ayla Golf Club, the MENA Tour’s destination partner in Aqaba, Jordan. Photo by Joy Chakravarty

5) Smooth resumption
A doff of our cap to the administrators worldwide trying to piece professional golf back together again in these extremely uncertain times. The cryptic scheduling puzzle is no less challenging for the MENA Tour who had sourced a series of European, Asian, Challenge and Alps Tour starts for its best 2020 performers, invites on tours now in a state of flux themselves. Those are complications for another day though. For now, the great news is a determination to get the MENA Tour by Arena back on its feet as quickly and as safely as possible and heading towards the season-ending $100,000 Arena Championship at Ayla Golf Club, the circuit’s Aqaba destination partner. “We are in touch with the members and updating them on a regular basis. The logistics are being tied up right now. We are looking at the window of October-November. The Tour is talking to the venue partners and will release the dates as soon as possible,” the tour said in a statement. A resumption, in any shape or form, will be a grand statement of intent.

The post Officials hope to complete the disrupted 2020 MENA Tour season in October-November appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
A breakthrough European Challenge Tour victory on home soil has MENA Tour rookie Robin Roussel eyeing promotion to the European Tour in 2020.

The 25-year-old Frenchman played the final 36 holes of the Hauts de France – Pas de Calais Golf Open bogey-free to continue his dream start to the season in Europe’s second tier; the €30,400 victory at notoriously tricky Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club was his fourth top-10 in six starts.

Roussel is now up to fourth in the Challenge Tour standings and on track to secure one of the 15 places in the Order of Merit standings that guarantee automatic graduation to the European Tour next season.

“It’s a very special feeling, I don’t have the words right now,” Roussel told said afterwards. “I just enjoyed the moment so much and the crowd so much. They’ve been very, very supportive all week long. It’s such a great feeling. No bogeys all weekend, I didn’t think about it, but I feel like I just played perfectly.”

Congratulations to @RobinRoussel, winner of our Troon Series – Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open, who played bogey-free over the weekend at the tough Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club to win his first title on the @Challenge_Tour. Well done Robin and here’s wishing you many more in the future. pic.twitter.com/iklfNOvyAv

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) June 17, 2019

Roussel is clearly determined not to waste the lessons learned during the MENA Tour’s spring-swing earlier this year, including a breakthrough victory at the Troon Series-Royal Golf Bahrain Open in March which secured an invite to the European Tour’s Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur.

Currently second on the MENA Tour OOM behind Matthew Baldwin, the Paris-born, Cannes-based Frenchman talks to Golf Digest Middle East about how his wary entry to the regional developmental circuit has made way for respect and awe at the opportunities offered by the those tasked with making it the best little mini-tour in the world.

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A friend told me about the MENA Tour last season but it was too late to get in the 2018 season so I just decided to wait until the 2019 tour. I didn’t really know what to expect, to be honest. I was a little nervous because it was the first time I would travel in this part of the world and I did not know the organisation of this tour. But now I know that MENA Tour team is absolutely perfect from A to Z and I’m 100% confident in playing in a MENA Tour event now.

You can’t really compare it with the other mini-tours. It’s totally different. I’ve been playing only for a year on the Alps Tour but what I can say is that the MENA Tour is closer to European Tour / Challenge Tour conditions than any other mini-tours. On the MENA Tour, you’re playing for more money, the courses are better and in a better shape, greens are way faster. The field of players is tougher. The organisation is bigger with official hotels, deals for accommodation, food and travel companies. But most importantly, this tour has big opportunities. You can get many invites on the Challenge and European Tours. That reality has been a fantastic surprise compared to what I thought this journey would be.

Before the win in Bahrain, as a pro, I’ve never been able to close a tournament when I had the opportunity to win it. This win proved me that, yes, I’m able to hold a 3-4-5 shot lead going into the last round. Now I know I’m able to get over the pressure of being at the top with some lads chasing me. It was a great feeling heading into the start of the Challenge Tour season.

I’m so grateful to the MENA Tour for the opportunity to play at the Maybank Championship, my first full European Tour start. It was such a great experience competing in one of the biggest fields on the European Tour schedule but also in the best field of the Asian Tour season. Even if conditions were really hard and I was a little tired from my five past weeks on the MENA Tour, that week in Malaysia was great. I learned a lot from other players, from this tough course, but also about myself. I didn’t play my best golf and I missed the cut by one stroke so next time I’ll be competing on the main tour I can trust myself and start the tournament with the same goals and expectations as I had at MENA Tour events.

It has been a great start to the Challenge Tour season so far but I must stay very careful because this game can be so cruel and crazy. I know that three top-10s to start is a good start [made better by his win this past weekend] but I also know that it is still a long way to reach main tour next year. But this start pushes me to work harder and harder.

It’s clear and obvious that my winter on the MENA Tour put me on this great dynamic. I just had to keep the same routine and attitude at my Challenge Tour events. I just feel like my season has started three months and nine tournaments ago [including the five MENA Tour starts]. The dynamic is so much easier to catch.

Making the top-15 of the Challenge Tour is the final goal, yes, especially after my week in Malaysia. On the European Tour, everything is put together to push you to show the best of you. This is such an amazing feeling, the great atmosphere when you’re on the range or the putting green, working with Ernie Els right next to you. You’re just telling yourself ‘ok this is where you want to be and this is where you have to be in the future’.

I don’t really know how many MENA Tour events I’ll play in the second half of the season. It depends on which tournaments clash with Challenge Tour events. But what is sure is that anytime I’m able to get back on the MENA Tour, I’ll be there. I loved it.  Really.

The post Roussel after Challenge Tour breakthrough: “It’s obvious that my winter on the MENA Tour put me on this great dynamic” appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Henrik Stenson was pleased to let his golf game do the talking Sunday but typically saved the punchline till after he’d sealed the year of his glittering career and a handy $1.25 million Christmas bonus.

The Swedish showman made light of clinching a second European Tour Player-of-theYear title at Jumeirah Golf Estates and with it the lion’s share of the tour’s $5 million bonus prize pool – three seasons after clinching his first Race to Dubai crown.

“I’m very pleased because I’ve got two [2013 and 2014] DP World Tour Championships and I’ve got two Race to Dubai titles. I have my home in Sweden and I have my home in America, so I can spread it out and make it look good in both places,” The Open champion said after a classy closing seven under 65 around Earth to finish in a tied for ninth.

He mightn’t be the best golfer in the world – not that No.4 is a ranking to be sneezed at – but few in the pro ranks are funnier than Stenson when it comes to interaction with the media, and by association, the game’s all important fans.

The 40-year-old has every reason to be jovial, too, after a 2016 in which he’s secured the Claret Jug, an Olympic silver medal, the BMW International and the Harry Vardon Trophy as the European Tour’s order of merit champion.

“I’m very pleased to get my name on this trophy once again. It’s been a great year, the best year of my career,”  said Stenson, delighted his name now twice adorns a trophy inscribed with Ballesteros, Langer, Faldo and Montgomerie, among other legends of the European Tour.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNB6UBEj4eb/?taken-by=europeantour&hl=en

“I’ve always thought it was going to be hard to top 2013, but I think I’ve done that this year. Maybe not to the level of golf over six months [in 2013], but certainly with the highlights of winning The Open, the Olympics and managed to win The Race to Dubai again. So it’s been a great year and it feels lovely to finish in this way.”

Stenson never threatened the leaders in this absorbing 8^th edition of the DP World Tour Championship but he did sign off the season ender in style with eight birdies and a solitary bogey, his 65 Sunday matched by playing partner Rory McIlroy who also finished -7, 10 shots behind winner Matthew Fitzpatrick.

Together the Ryder Cup pals produced some scintillating golf – 15 birdies and McIlroy’s eagle three at the 7^th prompting TV commentator Sam Torrance to ensure viewers they weren’t dreaming.

“This isn’t highlights we’re showing you. This is what is happening live. Amazing!” Torrance said.

It surely was. By the seventh hole, Stenson was five under for the final round and a combined 10 under for his last 15 holes around Earth after saving his Saturday with five birdies in his last seven holes.

McIlroy even pulled within two shots of the lead after going out in 30 strokes but ultimately left himself with too much to do after his sloppy opening 75 on Thursday.

“It was nice to shoot a good score out there and redeem myself a little bit [after] a very slow start this week,” the world No.2 said.

“Looking back on the week, that’s the day [Thursday] that I’m going to rue, I guess. You know, the last two starts of the year for me have been slow starts, with China a few weeks ago, started slowly there, and if I had not of done that, I would have maybe had a chance, or half a chance.”

Like all the players, McIlroy is looking forward to a golf free break with fiancée Erica Stoll, starting with Thanksgiving next week. There’ll also be a bit of R&R and just a little business in Dubai too.

“It’s a big deal in our household now. Thanksgiving in New York, and then back home to Northern Ireland for a couple of weeks,” McIlroy said.

“Going to come back out here to Dubai for maybe eight or nine days in the middle of December to test some equipment, and then back home again for Christmas. And then back out here on the 28th of December for New Years and then I’ll head down to South Africa at the start of next year; the South African Open, that’s where I’ll take it back up again.” – Kent Gray

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