While a second successive 64 saw Englishman Harry Ellis extend his overnight lead from one stroke to two over Swede Jesper Alm, it is the performance of Issa Abou El Ela that has caught much of the attention at the Al Ain Open by Arena.

The 24-year-old Egyptian marked his opening round 66 with a hole-in-one on Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club’s par-3 15th on Monday and went a shot lower on Tuesday to move to -9, just three strokes adrift of Ellis heading into today’s final round.

Abou El Ela found himself amid a four-way tie for the third-place alongside Sweden’s Gustav Kocken (65) and amateurs Josh Hill (66) and Curtis Knipes (64)  and in with a chance of emulating Robin ‘Tiger’ Williams who captured the autumn swing’s opening event, the Journey to Jordan #2 Championship, in his maiden MENA Tour start earlier this month.

His debut on the regional Pro-Am circuit perhaps shouldn’t come as such a great surprise given Abou El Ela’s pedigree mind you.  The Madinaty Golf Club member from Cairo is the son of Amr Abou El Ela, winner of seven Pan Arab Championships and one of the most respected names in Middle East & North African golf.

With his father watching, Abou El Ela played steady golf with six birdies and a solitary bogey.

“I played just one bad hole and I made a bogey there (on the 9th). Otherwise, it was a slightly boring round with lots of fairways and greens. I am really enjoying my first start on the MENA Tour and I am excited I have a chance tomorrow. I just want to stay positive,” he said.

After two 64s, Englishman Harry Ellis has the chance to become the MENA Tour’s 21st wire-to-wire winner on Wednesday. (Photo: Joy Chakravarty/MENA Tour)

Kicking on from his T-2 placing in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago, Ellis again went bogey-free to move to 12-under par 128 with his two 64s. Unlike the first round where he managed a solitary birdie on the back nine, the Southampton 24-year-old made three on either half of the pa 70 layout on Tuesday.

“It was important for me to get off to a good start and carry on that momentum from yesterday, and I managed to get an early birdie on the 10th, which was playing very long and into the wind,” said Ellis, who received a message from former world No1 Justin Rose on Twitter after the round.

Brilliant first two days @HarryEllisGolf enjoy the final round tomorrow. #TeamHampshire @theMENATour https://t.co/Q9nxx2K0Yf

— Justin ROSE (@JustinRose99) October 22, 2019

Our tweet on @HarryEllisGolf leading the Al Ain Open by Arena at @aesgc was liked by @JustinRose99, who has the same management company @excelsm.

So, we asked Harry about the relationship he shares with the former world No1 and how Rose has motivated him to become better. pic.twitter.com/6pu4rLExn5

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) October 22, 2019

“I just went back yesterday and reflected the way I played the back nine and did a much better job of it today. I still left a few out there, but it was a bogey-free round. I think this may be the first time I have been bogey-free for 36 holes, so very happy with that accomplishment.”

Two straight days of 64 and two consecutive bogey-free rounds!@HarryEllisGolf leads the Al Ain Open by Arena and is delighted with the way he is playing his golf. pic.twitter.com/2R3c7vI6L8

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) October 22, 2019

Like Ellis,  Alm is also searching for a maiden title on a recognised tour. The Swede insisted he hadn’t played as well on Tuesday as he had for his matching 65 on Monday but a final-hole eagle lifted his spirits.

“I am hitting my driver great, and I hope to take advantage of that. On the par-5 18th, I just heeled it a bit, but the drive still went 330 yards and I hit a 4-iron to about 20 feet and made the putt,” said the 27-year-old who grew up at the same golf club in Sweden as his idol Henrik Stenson.

“It was a solid round, but yesterday was better. I hit my irons really well but did not make as many putts. I like the golf course, so I am really looking forward to tomorrow.”

How cool is this dude? An unabashed fan of @henrikstenson, he does not mind taking a jibe at his idol!! Well done Jesper Alm! https://t.co/oJvg89qGv7

— Joy Chakravarty (@TheJoyofGolf) October 22, 2019

Meanwhile, Dubai-based Hill clearly has some buttering up to do at home!

SCHOOL’S OUT!!
There is a bit of trouble brewing in the Hill household!
Josh Hill shot a 66 and is T-3 going into the final round of Al Ain Open by Arena at @aesgc.
The 15-year-old is supposed to be catching up with his school work, but he is planning to defy his parents’ orders! pic.twitter.com/lsfaAyftJN

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) October 22, 2019

The post Like father, like son as Egyptian Issa Abou El Ela gives himself a shot at a debut MENA Tour triumph appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Four of the European Tour’s biggest names, including 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett, Ryder Cup talisman Ian Poulter and former world No.1 Lee Westwood, took to social media after the release of the regional Pro-Am circuit’s radically rejigged 2020 schedule to trumpet their approval. 

RELATED: Innovative events and new venues highlight ‘condensed’ 2020 MENA Tour schedule

Check out the Tweets:

Great way to start the stepping stones to success.. Good luck to all those players entering and starting the journey on Tour ???? @theMENATour https://t.co/M1lxNVJZnw

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) October 17, 2019

Fantastic to see this young development Tour growing https://t.co/j182mq8F5W

— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) October 17, 2019

Great news again from this young development tour @theMENATour ?? https://t.co/9JvfvaRepm

— Danny Willett (@Danny_Willett) October 17, 2019

Perhaps the most poignant post belonged to Scottish lefty Robert ‘Bob’ MacIntyre who won the MENA Tour’s Sahara Kuwait Golf Championship – two years ago to the day – in just his second professional start.

MacIntyre with the spoils of success at the 2017 Sahara Kuwait Golf Championship. It was just his second start as a professional.

MacIntyre has gone on to become one of the European Tour’s hottest young prospects, highlighted by his tie for sixth in his Open Championship debut at Royal Portrush in July.

The 23-year-old is currently seventh in the Race to Dubai and a lock for the season-ending $8 million DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Nov. 21-24. He is still to win on the European Tour but is banging on the door loudly; the lad from Oban finished eagle-birdie to place joint runner-up in the 2019 Betfred British Masters and a fortnight later finished second in the Made in Denmark tournament, a stroke behind Bernd Wiesberger who currently tops the Race to Dubai standings.

Earlier this week MacIntyre became the leading Scot on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) – at No. 86 – for the first time after finishing in a tie for fourth at the Italian Open.

He also hits ridiculous shots like this (make sure to turn up the sound for this one):

? Driver off the deck ?@robert1lefty making the 623-yard par five look easy!#ItalianOpen #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/dNkDVT3KHC

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 10, 2019

All of which makes his Tweet after Wednesday’s MENA Tour announcement perhaps the most meaningful of all.

Good luck, get entering and thanks again to @theMENATour for sending me on my journey…???? https://t.co/Eapnzabh83

— Robert Macintyre (@robert1lefty) October 17, 2019

After a week off, the MENA Tour resumes next week with the $75,000 Al Ain Open by Arena. The October 21-23 event at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club Al Ain is the second to last regular-season event before the 2019 Journey to Jordan final (Nov. 26-28) at Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba, Jordan, the circuit’s destination partner.

RELATED: Yas Links triumph massive boost for amateur prodigy turned pro James Allan

South African M.G. Keyser heads the professional J2J Order of Merit heading to Al Ain. Robin ‘Tiger’ Williams tops the amateur standings after becoming just the third amateur to win on tour at Journey to Jordan #2 Championship in September. However, the 18-year-old Englishman won’t play again until the penultimate event of the season, the Ras Al Khaimah Open by Arena (Oct. 28-30), giving countryman Jack Floydd a chance to make up ground in Al Ain this coming week.

For the full Journey to Jordan Order of Merit standings, click here:

The post MENA Tour rejig elicits big-name support appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Consistency. It’s golf’s rarest commodity and MG Keyser seems to have unearthed a handy supply of the stuff just at the right time on the MENA Tour.

With an utterly impressive seven-under 65 on his MENA Tour debut, Swede Niclas Weiland rightly stole the headlines on the opening day of the Abu Dhabi Open by Arena on Monday. There was also a birthday of all birthday’s 66 from England lefty James Allen who clearly won’t forget his 25th in a hurry, not to mention a trio of players – Mitchel Sarling (ENG), Alessandro Tadini (ITA) and Gabriel Axell (Swe) – on 67.

But lurking just three off the lead in a share of 6th place after an opening 68, Keyser is making all the right moves to protect his new lead atop the circuit’s season-long Journey to Jordan Order of Merit (OOM) race.

After winning twice last season – albeit 2017 – the Dubai-based South African collected his third MENA Tour by Arena title at the Troon Series Dubai Open at Dubai Hills in March. He then returned after the tour’s six-month summer hiatus with a tidy T-3 finish at last week’s Journey to Jordan-2 Championship to leapfrog two places – over now Challenge Tour focused Matthew Baldwin and Robin Roussel – to the summit of the OOM standings.

There’s still 36-holes to go this week and a long way yet before all the big European Tour invites are handed out to the professional Journey to Jordan champion at the end of the season come late November. But if Keyser can keep up his consistent run of scoring, it’s going to take something special to beat him.

The real beauty of his 68 on Monday was the fact he’s not overly enamoured with Kyle Phillips’ layout despite the Abu Dhabi course’s global respect. It was doubly impressive because he faced the full brunt of a windy day on the Arabian Gulf-fringed links.

MG Keyser

“I have never played well on this course. I tend to overthink here a bit, but it was so windy today that you just can’t do that,” Keyser revealed afterwards.

“I tried to play a little safe. And it also helped that we were in Ayla Golf Club last week, which was again very windy on all four days.”

Weiland, meanwhile, turned professional this year after finishing his college at Barry University in the US. The 24-year-old played a few events on the Nordic Golf League where his best finish was a T-6 in Landeryd Masters but when his mother took up a new job in Abu Dhabi recently, he made a beeline to the MENA Tour office.

On Monday, he made the most of his exemption, getting off to a hot start with three straight birdies and never let that momentum slip away. It even warranted a tweet from former Open champion and countryman Henrik Stenson.

Well done @NiclasWeiland !

— Henrik Stenson (@henrikstenson) October 7, 2019

“I played solid and made very few mistakes,” said Weiland.

“I made good putts on the first three holes. After that, I was able to recover well whenever I made any mistake. The conditions were pretty tough out there. The wind switched when we were on the back nine, so I think it was slightly tougher for us.”

James Allan (Photo: Joy Chakravarty/MENA Tour)

Allan, who qualified for the second stage of the European Tour Qualifying School last week, reached Abu Dhabi after a trek from Milan via London and was feeling the effects.

“I am very pleased with that,” the birthday boy said of his 66. “I started well with two birdies in the first two holes, but it was from the fourth hole to the 14th that we seemed to be playing continuously into the wind. I was feeling tired on the back nine, and that could be the reason why I made a bogey from the middle of the fairway on the 15th. But overall, I am chuffed with that round.

“I will spend the evening with some friends and celebrate, but I have a late tee time tomorrow, so I should be fresh. There will be no excuse about my round tomorrow.”

What a way to celebrate your birthday!!

England’s @jamesallangolf shoots a brilliant six-under par 66 on the opening day of Abu Dhabi Open by Arena to trail by one shot on a day when he turned 25. pic.twitter.com/k11cIU6faJ

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) October 7, 2019

After missing the cut in Aqaba last week, Dubai-based 15-year-old Josh Hill finally found a little co-operation from his driver Monday en-route to 69 that sees him lead the amateur race by a shot from Englishman Jack Floydd.

Josh Hills finally overcame a mini-slump – a period of couple of months when he seems to be struggling with a wayward driver.

In the Round 1 of the Abu Dhabi open by Arena, the 15-year-old hit 10 fairways in a 3-under 69, enough to lead the Amateur leaderboard by one shot. pic.twitter.com/0YOvbCgQ8e

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) October 7, 2019

Last week’s Journey To Jordan-2 champion Robin ‘Tiger’ Williams started his campaign with a 73.

The post Consistent Keyser lurks as Swede enjoys dream debut and Allan the happiest of 25th birthdays appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Robin ‘Tiger’ Williams is poised to become just the third amateur winner in the MENA Tour’s colourful eight-season history on Wednesday. Even more impressively, he’s on track to achieve the rare feat in his debut appearance on the regional Pro-Am circuit.

The 18-year-old Englishman extended his first-round lead at the Journey to Jordan-2 tournament Tuesday from one stroke to five with an impressive, six-under-par 66 around Ayla Golf Club.

If the Peterborough-based England age-group rep can hold his nerve in Wednesday’s final round – and there is nothing thus far to suggest he won’t –  he’ll become the circuit’s 20th wire-to-wire winner and join Dubai’s Rayhan Thomas and Dutchman Pierre Junior Verlaar as amateur champions. Thomas created history as the first amateur winner when he captured his home Dubai Creek Open in 2016 while Junior Verlaar won the Royal Golf Mohammedia Open in Morocco the following season.

Check out this short interview with Williams, whose middle name is Tiger, after he added the 66 to his opening 68 to move to 134 for the championship, 10 under par.

He is making his first start on @theMENATour and he leads by five shots going into the final round.

This is what the talented @IAmRobinTiger had to say after his second-round 66… pic.twitter.com/ItauF83bDk

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) October 1, 2019

Daniel Gaunt, the Australian who won the Troon Series- Al Zorah Open in February, is Williams’ closest pursuer on 139 after rounds of 70-69. Four players, including South African MG Keyser, the highest placed pro in the Order of Merit (OOM) in the field this week at No. 3, and amateur OOM pace-setter Curtis Knipes (England), share third place on 140.

Zane Scotland (143), the MENA Tour’s most successful player with 10 titles, inched into the top 10 with a second-round 71 while the Jack Floydd (ENG) in solo seventh on 141 made it three amateurs on the first page of the leaderboard.

[divider] [/divider]

2019 Journey to Jordan-2 – Top 10 after the second round

[divider] [/divider]

The post Williams poised to follow in footsteps of Rayhan Thomas, Pierre Junior Verlaar as amateur champ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Robin ‘Tiger’ Williams will take a one-stroke lead into the penultimate round of the Journey to Jordan-2 event after headlining a day for the amateurs as the MENA Tour season resumed after a six-month summer hiatus on Monday.

The South African-born, Peterborough-based England age-group representative fired a 68 at Ayla Golf Club in his first MENA Tour round. The four-under circuit of the Aqaba layout saw the 18-year-old edge a group of five players on 69 for the overnight lead, including Order-of-Merit (OOM) contender Daniel Gaunt (Australia) and fellow English amateur Jack Floydd.

His name is Robin Williams.

Everyone calls him ‘Tiger’.

But can he be England’s next @JustinRose99?

South Africa-born England amateur @IAmRobinTiger leading Journey To Jordan 2 in Aqaba after a -4 first round!#HarderBetterFastefStronger pic.twitter.com/uR36BQiDGU

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) October 1, 2019

Amateur OOM leader Curtis Knipes shares seventh-place on 71 alongside Miguel Jimenez Jnr, the son of the European Tour legend, and Dubai-based South African MG Keyser who needs a top-five finish to leapfrog from third in the ‘Journey to Jordan’ OOM race to first.

Jordanian Shergo Al Kurdi had the honour of hitting the tournament’s opening tee shot and 71 strokes later had signed for a 72 and a share of 11th to continue the red-letter day for the amateurs.

Arjun Gupta was the best of the Dubai-based amateurs with a 75, three shots better than Josh Hill (78) while Toby Bishop carded a 79.

Williams, currently rated 100 in the official World Amateur Golf Ranking, has been as low as 76. The Peterborough Milton Golf Club member, who was born in Stellenbosch, Cape Town, shares the same middle as Tiger Woods but was not named after the late comedian Robin Williams as he is frequently asked.

In September 2017, at age 16 and one week, Williams emulated Rory McIlroy by making his debut in a professional event at the same age and tournament, the British Masters, as the Northern Irishman. He played in last year’s Junior Ryder Cup. 

The post Robin ‘Tiger’ Williams’ is off to a flyer in his MENA Tour debut as amateurs shine in Jordan appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Robin “Tiger” Williams is a budding English golf phenom having played in last year’s British Masters on the European Tour as a 16-year-old, the same age Woods made his PGA Tour debut at the 1992 Nissan Los Angeles Open. This week, he went 2-1 in the Junior Ryder Cup as Europe lost by a point to the U.S. But a chat with his idol made his trip to France something he’ll never forget. Check it out:

Today a ? met another ? #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/Rm7FjWgrvm

— Junior Ryder Cup (@JuniorRyderCup) September 26, 2018

As you can see, Williams, who said he was “still a bit shaky” after the encounter with Woods was too nervous to initially tell Tiger about their connection. But once someone else brought it up, Woods perked up.

“C’mon, dude. Is it really?! Good for you.”

According to an interview Williams did with The Telegraph last year, his dad was either going to name him after Tiger Woods or Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. Never was it more clear that Mr. Williams made the right choice than on Wednesday. And now that Woods has returned to his winning ways, if the 17-year-old keeps up his form on the course, there could be more meetings between the two in the future.

The post Ryder Cup 2018: Tiger Woods meets promising teen golfer named after him, gives great reaction appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.