By Matt Smith
After a decade-long absence, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) will return to Amata Springs Country Club in Thailand.

The 13th edition of the AAC will be held at the Chonburi venue from October 27-30, the R&A has announced.

This will be the first time since 2012 that Amata will host the competition, with last year’s tournament being held at Dubai Creek Golf Club in the UAE, in collaboration with the Emirates Golf Federation.

Created in 2009, the AAC was established to further develop amateur golf in the Asia-Pacific region. The champion will receive an invitation to compete in the 2023 US Masters and 151st Open Championship, while the runner(s)-up will gain a place in final qualifying for The Open.

“We look forward to bringing the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship back to Amata and gathering the region’s top players at this exceptional venue once again,” said Taimur Amin, Chairman of the Asian Pacific Golf Confederation, Fred Ridley, Chairman of the Masters Tournament, and Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, in a joint statement.

“This year will be a special opportunity to build on the growth we’ve seen in amateur golf over the last 10 years since the event was last held in Thailand. We are grateful to our hosts in the region as we work together to promote the game’s development and provide pathways for talented amateurs across the Asia-Pacific.”

Notable past competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the AAC, and Cameron Smith, who won The Players in March and is currently the fourth-ranked player in the world. Collectively, AAC alumni have gone on to win 21 tournaments on the PGA Tour to date.

“We are thrilled to once again host the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship,” said Andrew Yau, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amata Spring Country Club. “Amata Spring is excited to present a challenging test for the best amateur golfers across the Asia-Pacific region.”

The 13th @AAC_golf will return to Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, Thailand, October 27-30, 2022.

Read more ? https://t.co/FBWnpj9DJs pic.twitter.com/pXyGqbLKCj

— Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (@AAC_Golf) May 11, 2022

Amata Spring Country Club was designed by Lee Schmidt and established in 2005. In addition to previously hosting the AAC in 2012, the course has provided the backdrop for prestigious events such as the LPGA Thailand, the Thailand Golf Championship and the Royal Trophy team event.

“Hosting the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is a unique opportunity to support the game of golf in Thailand as the talent in our country continues to grow,” said Rungsrid Luxsitanonda, president of the Thailand Golf Association. “We are proud to invite the top amateurs from across the region back to Thailand and Amata Spring and look forward to another exciting edition of the AAC.”

Over the AAC’s 13-year history, the Championship has served as a springboard to some of the world’s top players, including future PGA Tour winners Matsuyama, CT Pan, Smith, Cameron Davis, Lucas Herbert, Si Woo Kim, Satoshi Kodaira and Kyoung-Hoon Lee.

Last November at the Dubai Creek, Japan’s Keita Nakajima came out on top, and Dubai’s own Rayhan Thomas was runner up to Takumi Kanaya in the 2018 edition.

You might also like:
Dubai golfer Amelia McKee going pro
eGolf changing the game in the UAE
New twist in LIV Golf tale
Sensational finish at Dubai Golf Trophy
Sergio Garcia ‘can’t wait to quit PGA Tour’
Westwood and ‘many more’ request release to play LIV Golf Invitational Series
Look: Phil Mickelson spotted on golf course
Tiger Woods plays Southern Hills ahead of PGA Championship
LIV Golf Invitational Series continues to take shape
Trump to host LIV finale

The post Following on from Dubai Creek success, Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship returns to Amata Springs appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joy Chakravarty
Freshly-minted Hero World Challenge champion Viktor Hovland has given a glowing appraisal of Dubai-based amateur Rayhan Thomas.

The 24-year-old Hovland is an Oklahoma State University alumnus and remains a regular at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, the home base of the OSU Cowboys, even two years after turning pro. The Norwegian, who climbed to world No.7 following his win in the Bahamas, also has his residence there.

Thomas, who became the first amateur to win on the MENA Tour (2016 Dubai Creek Open) and was tied second at the 2018 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, joined OSU in 2019. But he struggled with his swing for more than a year and spent most of his time in the driving range and sidelines watching his teammates continue to add to the legacy of such stars as Hovland and Matthew Wolff.

RELATED: Dubai prodigy Rayhan Thomas reveals ‘mental and physical’ toll of his return from rock bottom

In his quest to get back his swing, the 21-year-old decided not to come home to Dubai in the summer of 2021, playing tournaments and putting in the reps in the US. He played several rounds with Hovland over the period, feeding on the experience of the three-time PGA Tour champion, and forging a strong bond with the Norwegian.

The move is now paying dividends as Thomas has had several encouraging outings in the past couple of months. He played a key role in OSU finishing second at the season-ending East Lake Cup and was second in his last individual event – the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate. Having dropped down close to 2,000th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, his recent form has helped him climb to No. 951.

Thomas believes his best in college golf is yet to come, and from what he has seen, Hovland has complete faith in the Indian.

Photo by Joy Chakravarty.

“I think he is having a good year, and I think he has a really good future,” said Hovland speaking exclusively to Golf Digest Middle East during the Hero World Challenge in Bahamas.

“He is such a fun guy to be around and he has got a very good head on his shoulders. He is still very young, but speaks very eloquently and thinks about everything that he does. He goes about his business with purpose, and he is pretty smart.

“You know, he struggled a little bit early in his first year in college, but it was really nice to see him kind of get into a rhythm and start playing well at the end of this year.

“I think he is pretty motivated too. He keeps working hard and I see no reason why he should not have a great year.”

Having spent his years with coach Alan Bratton and his team at one of the most successful college golf programmes, Hovland says he completely understands what Thomas has gone through in the first couple of years.

“He is not the only player at Oklahoma State to have struggled. Karsten Creek is a tough place. It is one of the most prestigious golf programmes in the State. There are a lot of things that put pressure on you. When you are part of such a team, you just want to play well so badly. And there are times when it just doesn’t work out. We have had a lot of success, but unfortunately, we also have a lot of experience of players struggling as well,” explained Hovland.

“But then again, our struggles help us kind of know more about ourselves. It’s all about the team telling him the right things and making him comfortable, making him relaxed. He is very well-liked by Coach Bratton and he is working on good things, and eventually, his game is gonna turn around.”

Thomas had earlier told Golf Digest Middle East that Hovland had become a mentor for him and he seeks a lot of advice from the PGA Tour star.

“Yeah…that’s one thing I like about him. He keeps asking questions. We speak a lot, but it’s not like just golf stuff. Swing advice is probably not the best advice I can give, but it’s things like asking about how life on tour is, how do you think mentally in a certain situation. The small things. He seems like he listens and asks more questions. And that’s good,” said Hovland.

Thomas is back in Duba for his winter break.

The post Viktor Hovland backs fellow OSU Cowboy Rayhan Thomas to have ‘great year’ in 2022 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
That Bo Jin leads the 12th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship through 36 holes comes as no surprise when you discover the proud institutional and unlikely local course knowledge the Chinese teen has in his armoury.

The 19-year-old from Beijing fired a bogey-free, seven-under 64 at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club Thursday to rocket to the summit of the leaderboard at -8, a shot ahead of five players including Japan’s world amateur No.1 Keita Nakajima (68), Australian Connor McKinney (65) and the Korean trio of Sam Choi (68), Baekjun Kim (66) and Wooyoung Cho (68).

Jin is the younger brother of 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Cheng so knows exactly what it takes to win the event and all the benefits of doing so, namely invites to the Masters and The Open.

RELATED: UAE No.1 Amhad Skaik looks to cash-in on unexpected weekend play at the Asia-Pacific Amateur

The Oklahoma State University sophomore is also good buddies with Cowboys golf team-mate Rayhan Thomas, the Dubai-prodigy who just happens to be the owner of the Creek course record, a giddy circuit in 61 strokes during a 2017 MENA Tour event that included a world-record tying nine successive birdies. Don’t forget either that Thomas was runner-up at the 2018 ACC representing India so knows a thing or two about contesting in the region’s premier event too.

“I have learned a lot from Cheng but when we get to the golf course, I definitely want to beat him,” said Jin, who made five homeward birdies in his second round.

“When he won the championship [at Clearwater Bay Golf Club in Hong Kong], I was so excited because it meant that I could go to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club along with him. Obviously, he hasn’t told me much about this golf course but I get plenty of good insight into life and golf from him and yes, I want to win the championship like he did.”

Thomas’ advice, meanwhile, has thus far proved invaluable.

“Rayhan is a great guy and a very good friend of mine. We sat down before coming here, and he gave me a lot of good advice, like how grainy the greens become and how to putt on them. And how the course is rather short and why I should practice my wedges more than my long irons, and things like that. It definitely played a role in my round today.”

On his round of 64, Jin added: “I just played really well. Putting wasn’t the best but I hit it pretty well and pretty close to the hole and grabbed one or two on the front nine. Then on the back nine everything started rolling in, which was pretty awesome.

“The biggest change from the first round was the double bogey I made on the ninth hole yesterday. It was mental mistakes really. And I am happy that I did not repeat them today.”

Defending champion Yuxin Lin of China made a double bogey on the par-4 closing hole and dropped down to four-under-par 138, four strokes off the lead.

Exactly 50 players from 15 countries, including the UAE’s Ahmad Skaik and Jordan’s Shergo Kurdi, made the cut at two over par. Fellow MENA Tour regular Arjun Gupta missed the weekend after rounds of 75-73 to finish +6.

The post Dubai prodigy Rayhan Thomas has helped a Chinese teen with family history to the halfway lead at the Asia Pacific appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Indian amateur is conspicuous by his absence in the line-up for next month’s 12th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at his home Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club after falling outside the top 1000 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings. It was an event he very nearly won in 2018 which would have secured a dream invite to the Masters and Open Championship.

It has been quite the plummet since for Thomas who became the first amateur winner on the Pro-Am MENA Tour in 2016 before defending the title at his home Dubai Creek course the following year amid an explosion of global media interest. That courtesy of a second-round 61 where he tied Mark Calcavecchia’s world record by making nine straight birdies.

Incredibly though, the swing yips that have taken Thomas to rock bottom had already emerged. He started 2019 with two European Tour starts including an opening 67 at the Saudi International to sit inside the top 10.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 30: Rayhan Thomas reacts after missing a putt during Day 3 of the 2019 East Lake Cup at East Lake Golf Club on October 30, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

“And then I just blew up,” Thomas, who followed with a 77 to miss the cut, told Golf Channel.

In his first two seasons in college golf for the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, Thomas qualified for just four events – all came during his freshman season – and faded from the limelight.

“It affected pretty much every part of my game,” Thomas said. “It took a toll on me physically and mentally. … It definitely did cross my mind, maybe taking a break, but deep down I know I love this sport. It’s what keeps me happy.”

Unable to return to Dubai due to the COVID-19 outbreak, about all Thomas could do was dig a solution out of the range dirt.

Now in his junior year at OSU, things are looking up. As Golf Channel report, Thomas has yet to finish outside the top 20 in his five starts as a junior. He’s qualified for two starting lineups, including for this week’s East Lake Cup, where he tied for eighth in stroke play and halved his match against Arizona State’s highly regarded Cameron Sisk. In his individual tournaments, he has two more top-10s, most notably a runner-up showing at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate.

OSU coach Alan Bratton is full of praise for the fight shown by the serial Emirates Golf Federation winner and MENA Tour trailblazer.

“Golf’s a hard game, and you’re usually not as bad as you think you are, and good golf is not usually as far away as sometimes it can feel … but it happens all the time, even to the best players in the world,” Bratton said.

“But Ray did all the work. He’s such a great kid, and through his struggles he’s kept a great attitude and worked really hard. He came to the course with a smile on his face, trying to just work to keep getting better, and he’s played well this semester.”

Our man @RayhanThomas is showing that the turnaround in his form is for real.

A week after finishing 2nd at Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate, he qualified for the @eastlakecup and is traveling with @OSUCowboyGolf teammates in style. #GolfSchool pic.twitter.com/pDVLKWBJE8

— Joy Chakravarty (@TheJoyofGolf) October 24, 2021

The best bit is Thomas knows he’s nowhere near his best yet.

“I don’t think I’m anywhere close which is a good thing because I know I can get a hell of a lot better.”

Getty Images

The post Dubai prodigy Rayhan Thomas reveals ‘mental and physical’ toll of his return from rock bottom appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

As part of the decision, schools will be responsible for the financial costs associated with keeping on the student-athletes. Schools will have the option to provide equal or less aid to seniors who decide to return for the 2020-’21 season and had otherwise exhausted their eligibility, with the NCAA’s Student Assistance Fund available for schools to help finance the scholarships.

“The Council’s decision gives individual schools the flexibility to make decisions at a campus level,” said University of Pennsylvania athletic director M. Grace Calhoun, who chairs D-I council. “The Board of Governors encouraged conferences and schools to take action in the best interest of student-athletes and their communities, and now schools have the opportunity to do that.”

How the vote might impact the decision of some of college golf’s top-ranked seniors is unclear. U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree and runner-up John Augenstein, seniors at Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt, respectively, have both indicated it is unlikely they would return to their schools. Each had expected to play as amateurs at the Masters and turn professional after the NCAA Championship in May. However, with pro tours on hold due to the coronavirus (and uncertainty over what happens when play resumes), turning pro in the summer and hoping to play on sponsor’s exemptions might be a more challenging prospect than previously expected for college golfers.

“It’s come up in conversations about going back, but that would probably be the last option,” Augenstein recently told Global Golf Post. “That may happen only if it’s the worst-case scenario. Just like when you get done with high school, you want to move on. That’s kind of how I feel.”

Andy Ogletree, John Augenstein
USGA (2)

However, making a return to school more attractive for some top players is an unusual carrot. The 2021 Walker Cup is set for next May at Seminole Golf Club in Florida. Given the unusually early date, and the potential difficultly of getting starts on the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour, some players might go back to school to play for their schools another year and perhaps earn a spot on the U.S. team before then turning pro after the 2021 NCAA Championship.

The post NCAA grants spring-sport athletes, including college golfers, extra year of eligibility due to coronavirus appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The iconic course celebrated its 1,000,000th round last month, 27 years after opening in 1993 to global headlines when world No.1 Sir Nick Faldo, Severiano Ballesteros, Japanese ace Isao Aoki and South African legend Ernie Els played a challenge match.

The one million milestone was marked during the club’s annual Captain’s Day on January 18  where the traditional ‘drive-in’ by incoming captains Saeed Malik and Lianne Scatterty signified the start of the new season.

Ryder Cup-winning captain Thomas Bjorn, who enhanced the 7000-yard, par-71 layout during a 2004 re-model, led the congratulations.

“Congratulations to all the Members and colleagues at Dubai Creek on this incredible milestone of 1,000,000 rounds played on the championship course,” Bjorn said.

“Today, the course remains the centrepiece of one of the most recognised golf resorts in the region and I am incredibly proud to have been part of the design process and contribute to the club’s reputation around the world.”

The ‘Creek’, as it is affectionately known, is one of the most influential courses in the Middle East as well as one of the most recognisable with its dhow sail-shaped clubhouse and tough holes hugging Dubai Creek.

It has twice hosted the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic with Englishman David Howell and Argentina’s Jose Coceres winning the 1999 and 2000 editions respectively.

The 6th hole is one of four hugging Dubai Creek.

In 2015 the course played host to the Icons Cup which featured a host of legendary names from a multitude of sports playing a Ryder Cup-style world v USA match captained by Darren Clarke and Fred Couples respectively.

Dubai-based amateur sensation Rayhan Thomas holds the Creek course record, a 10-under par 61 which featured a world record-equalling nine consecutive birdies during the second round of the MENA Tour’s Dubai Creek Open in September 2017.

“Over the years, the club has welcomed generations of families and friends and has hosted the best players in the world to enjoy the challenging layout and extensive facilities the club has to offer,: said Dubai Golf CEO Chris May.

“On behalf of everyone at Dubai Golf I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the members and guests of Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club over the years on this historic milestone, and here’s to the next 1,000,000 rounds.”

The post Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club cracks one million rounds  appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

When Viktor Hovland sat down for his pre-tournament presser on Wednesday following his staggering victory at the Hero World challenge at the Yas Marina Circuit the previous night, it wasn’t long before the conversation shifted to Oklahoma State University, his former school where Dubai-born Indian world amateur star Thomas is now furthering his golfing education.

“It’s a pretty cool thing that we can gather so many different kids from around the world to one place. After a couple of years, we kind of all have the same pride about the school, and we think about Oklahoma State Golf in a very unique way. It’s like an elite fraternity,” said the 22-year-old Norwegian of OSU.

Viktor Hovland at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. (Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Thomas enjoyed a blistering start to his MENA Tour career, winning the Dubai Creek Open in 2016 as an amateur – the first on the tour to do so, and making the cut in the 2017 Omega Dubai Desert Classic. That same year his defence of the Dubai Creek Open title included nine straight birdies, a world record. But Hovland reckons this new chapter of his golfing life will set him up for yet more success.

“Hopefully he’s kind of getting there with that mentality. Especially for Rayhan, I would imagine he’s a very good player. Being from over here, he probably doesn’t have the same depth of competition as he would being in the United States, and just for him to get out of his comfort zone and to see a different place and compete at different courses, I think he’s just going to become more versatile and just get comfortable competing and beating everyone hopefully.”

The post Oklahoma State old boy Hovland says Rayhan Thomas is right where he needs to be appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
All going well, Rayhan Thomas will skip the opening day at golf’s ultimate finishing school. We’re not sure playing hooky on your first day as a freshman is the best way to impress the academic faculty at Oklahoma State University but suspect Cowboys men’s golf team head coach Alan Bratton won’t mind a jot.

August 19 is the beginning of the next step in Thomas’ thus far thoroughly impressive ascent to the sharp end of the professional game, the start of a four-year immersion in a celebrated collegiate program that has produced professionals the calibre of Rickie Fowler. August 19 is also the final day of the 119th U.S. Amateur Championship at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club. Reaching the 36-hole final in North Carolina is a long shot (Ed’s note: Thomas sadly opened with a 10-over-par 80) but be it fabled Pinehurst No.2 or famed OSU, Thomas can’t lose either way.

RELATED: Wu opens 119th U.S. Amateur with 65; Tough start for Thomas

A reconnaissance mission to Stillwater, Oklahoma earlier this year certainly has the MENA Tour trailblazer fizzing for his next chapter, one that already includes two professional titles and a runner-up finish in last year’s Asia Pacific Amateur Championship.

“The trip when I went over to OSU was just fantastic,” the 19-year-old Dubai-based Indian recalls. “I spent two days there. The coach picked me up and took me straight to the golf club, checked that out. A fantastic facility, met the whole [golf club] team, I mean they’ve got some set-up there – no wonder they’ve been the best team in college golf for such a long time.”

The club of which Thomas speaks in such glowing terms is Karsten Creek. If the name is familiar, that’s because the Tom Fazio design was named after the late Karsten Solheim, founder of Karsten Manufacturing, or as it is more commonly known PING.

The brainchild of former OSU golf coach and current OSU Athletic Director Mike Holder, Karsten Creek opened in 1994 and has been home to the OSU golf program for the past 20 years. With its slick greens and a layout rated among the toughest in the United States, it’s a perfect place for Thomas to hone his game. So too is the program Bratton oversees; when OSU won it’s 11th NCAA Division 1 men’s title in 2018, Bratton became the first Cowboy to win collegiate golf’s top title as a player, assistant coach and then coach.

Karsten Creek G.C. has helped the OSU Cowboys become the country’s dominant NCAA Division 1 team

OSU was ousted in the semifinals by the Texas Longhorns in the most recent NCAA Div 1 Championship held in Arkansas in May. Thomas has been drafted in to help get the Cowboys back to where they belong (only the University of Houston with 16 has more NCAA golf titles) but making the five-man roster won’t be a cinch, even for a player ranked 14th in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking. Quality and Oklahoma State go hand in golf glove; aside from PGA Tour fan-favourite Fowler, OSU’s alumni include Charles Howell III, Bob and Kevin Tway, Peter Uihlein, Hunter Mayhan, Bo Van Pelt, Scott Verplank, Morgan Hoffmann, Alex Noren and 1998 Open Championship runner-up Brian Watts. More recently, Viktor Hovland won the 2018 U.S. Amateur and finished low amateur in this year’s U.S. Open while Matthew Wolff kicked on from winning the NCAA individual crown by clinching his first PGA Tour title at last month’s 3M Open. The win was historic with Wolff becoming just the third player after Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods to win the NCAA title and a PGA Tour title in the same year.

“The system in OSU is that you’ve got to qualify for the team. There are stable spots for the No.1 and No.2 players but initially I’m going to have to work my way onto that team, prove that I deserve that top 5 spots [first] and [then] prove I deserve one of those stable spots,” Thomas said. “There are so many good players it’s going to be a grind just to get onto the team.”

Luckily the MENA Tour has taught Thomas the art of the grind, not to mention a bit of artistry as well. A year after becoming the first amateur winner on tour at his home Dubai Creek Open in 2016, Thomas famously equalled the world record for successive birdies – all nine of them – en-route to a course record-tying 61 and a runner-up finish.

“The Mena Tour has been huge to getting me to this point,” he said. “It’s meant a lot to me and is the reason I am where I am today with the amount of ranking [AWGR points] and opportunities to play in some big European [Tour] tournaments. I can’t thank the MENA Tour enough for allowing me to be part of their journey and them being part of my journey.

“I can’t wait to see what the MENA has in store for us all in the next few years and I can’t wait to see what the golfing world has in store for me.”

Tournament Director Wayne Johnson was playing the mutual appreciation game as the MENA Tour prepared to bid Thomas a fond farewell.

“We are certainly very proud of Rayhan’s accomplishments and wish him the very best on his journey through the collegiate golf program and tournaments in the USA,” said Johnson.

“There is no substitute for hard work and I know Rayhan has worked extremely hard on his game with some expert tuition and guidance from the team at the Butch Harmon School of Golf [now Claude Harmon 3 Performance Golf Academy Dubai at The Els Club].

“I also believe the MENA Tour events Rayhan played in have helped form part of his successful growth and enhanced his performance by competing against more accomplished and experienced players on a regular basis.

“He has an immense passion for the game balanced with a wonderful temperament which will only stand to serve him well as he embarks on his new adventure to Oklahoma State University, one of the finest colleges in the USA with an unrivalled golf program which has helped nurture and develop some of the biggest  stars of the game.”

Here’s hoping Thomas becomes another of those famous Cowboy graduates – even if he does miss the first day of school.

The post Rayhan Thomas is about to take his golf education to the next level appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
That Brandon Wu would hold a one-shot lead after Day 1 of stroke play at the 119th U.S. Amateur Championship is hardly a surprise. The recent Stanford grad who helped the Cardinal win the NCAA title in May is in the midst of an impressive summer run that includes becoming the first amateur golfer to qualify for the U.S. and British Opens in the same calendar year since 1967. Wu finished T-35 at Pebble Beach (and was awarded his college diploma behind the 18th green) before missing the cut at Royal Portrush.

But there’s a backstory that makes Wu’s opening five-under 65 at Pinehurst No. 4 on Monday all the more impressive. Just the day before, Wu, the eighth-ranked player on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, was competing in the final round of the Pan American Games . . . in Lima, Peru. A closing even-par 71 left him in fourth place as an individual and helped the mixed U.S. team win a gold medal in the four-day event.

Afterwards, Wu went to the airport and took a red-eye flight through Miami to Pinehurst, where he arrived mid-morning on Monday, a few hours ahead of his 2:45 p.m. tee time (USGA officials gave him an afternoon time to accommodate his schedule since he was representing the country in an international competition).

By participating in the Pan Am Games for the U.S., Wu had to forgo weekend practice rounds at Pinehurst. However, the 22-year-old from Scarsdale, N.Y., visited the North Carolina resort in early July, getting the chance to play the newly re-designed No. 4 and the fabled No. 2 course.

Wu showed few signs of fatigue on Monday, as he closed out his round with three birdies and an eagle on the 14th through 17th holes. A par on the 18th still gave him the competitive course record.

“I tried to manage my sleep as well as I could,” Wu said. “I slept great on the two flights up here, and then took a quick nap before I teed off for about two hours. I actually feel pretty good.”

He’ll need to as Wu has a quick turnaround on Tuesday morning, teeing off the 11th tee at the No. 2 course at 9:30 a.m.

The top-64 players after Tuesday’s second round of stroke play will advance to match play, which will be contested from Wednesday through Sunday’s scheduled 36-hole final.

Ed’s Note:  MENA Tour prodigy Rayhan Thomas had an opening round to forget, carding a 10-over-par 80 to sit in T-262 place – 15 shots off Wu’s first-round pace. It’s not all bad for the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club member even though he looks unlikely to advance to the matchplay phase at Pinehurst; Thomas is headed to Oklahoma State University for the next chapter in his golf education.

RELATED: MENA Tour trailblazer Rayhan Thomas is about to take his golf education to the next level

The post Brandon Wu arrives off red-eye flight from Peru, still shoots 65 to lead U.S. Amateur; Tough start for Dubai’s Thomas appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
It was a day to forget for those with Middle East connections at the 124th British Amateur Championship in Ireland on Tuesday.

Following a four-over 75 at The Island near Dublin on Monday, Rayhan Thomas needed something special in the second round of strokeplay qualifying to advance to the matchplay phase of the R&A’s premier amateur men’s event at the third time of trying. Sadly the region’s highest ranked player at No.14 in the world amateur rankings blew out to a 79 in his second round at Portmarnock to finish 219th in the 288-strong field at 11 over par.

The Indian 19-year-old’s Dubai colleague Josh Hill had little chance of advancing in the top 64 after an opening 82 at Portmarnock. The Trump Dubai 15-year-old at least improved with a 75 at The Island yesterday but still finish +14 for the championship in 256th place.

[divider] [/divider]

WATCH DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 124th AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

[divider] [/divider]

Even MENA Tour amateur Order of Merit leader Curtis Knipes had a horror Tuesday, falling from a share on 9th after the opening round to 179th place. After opening with a one-under 70 at The Island, the Englishman tumbled 169 places and well out of contention on Tuesday with an 83 at Portmarnock.

England’s Thomas Plumb and Dane John Axelsen shared top spot in stroke play qualifying at -4. Plumb was declared the leading qualifier on back nine count back after posting 71 in his second round at Portmarmock. The matchplay knockout begins today at Portmarnock. 

The post Forgettable day for Middle East trio at Amateur Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.