Special company at Al Mouj
Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Rumhi, the former Omani Minister of Oil and Gas, attended the GoLadies programme at Al Mouj Golf Club. The concept aims to encourage women to participate in golf activities, following the Oman Golf Association becoming a signatory of the R&A’s Women in Golf Charter.

Jumeirah Golf Estates

JGE gets in Open mood
Jumeirah Golf Estates held its Open Championship Scramble for members and guests over the weekend — a pairs scramble event that saw 74 golfers take part. Annabel Ayres and Bradley Webb came out on top with a net -14 under par, ahead of Connor McGlave and Gerry Donaldson in second.

Royal Golf Club

Royal Golf Club gets facelift
The Royal Golf Club in Bahrain has started work on its course enhancement programme — working alongside golf course construction experts Green Dynasty. European Golf Design architect Robin Hiseman will oversee the enhancements.

The Els Club

Quartet triumph at Els Club
The Els Club held the team Cha Cha Cha Golf competition, with teams of four going head to head in a stableford format. Kris Worne, Daniel Andrews, Ian Overton and Marc Spitzer were the winning quartet with a score of 84 points, three ahead of the team of Matthew Chen, Tim Haas, Guy Dawson and Murray Leslie.

Jumeirah Golf Estates

Green and Warham take top spot
The weekly Jumeirah Golf Estates Curry Club took place over the front nine of the Earth course, with 32 golfers battling it out in a pairs scramble. Richard Green and David Warham prevailed on eight-under, ahead of Mark Schofield and Simon Pearson on five-under.

The post The Gulf Club: News from around the UAE and beyond appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Dubai golf prodigy Rayhan Thomas has sensationally won his second professional title as an amateur, turning the tables on South African rival Mathiam Keyser at the 11th King Hamad Trophy in Bahrain.

The Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club-attached Indian, who turned 19 earlier this week, fired a closing four-under 68 at the Royal Golf Club on Saturday to finish the 54-hole event on -17, five shots clear of Keyser.

After rounds of 66 and 65, Thomas came from a shot back overnight with the help of an eagle on the par-5 9th as 36-hole leader Keyser stumbled home with a 74. Englishman Josh White finished third, a further shot adrift on -11.

The victory enabled Thomas to extract a measure of revenge over Keyser who edged him by two shots in his defence of the 2017 Dubai Creek Open, the MENA Tour title he famously captured in September 2016 aged just 16.

Thomas, who is coached by U.S.-bound Dubai coach to the stars Justin Parsons, mightn’t have defended at the Creek but he did create global headlines by rattling off a world record equalling nine successive birdies in an opening round of 61, a course record tying round on his home course.

Related: Watch Rayhan Thomas seal world record equalling MENA Tour round at 2017 Dubai Creek Open

Thomas, who finished runner-up at the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship in Singapore last month, will follow in the footsteps of PGA Tour star Rickie Fowler when he plays collegiate golf for the Oklahoma State University Cowboys next year.

Related: Thomas eyes the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush after sensational run to joint second at Asia-Pacific Amateur

The post Dubai amateur Rayhan Thomas, just 19, wins second pro title by five shots in Bahrain appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Abu Dhabi Golf Club has earned further plaudits a week after its status as one of the premier stops on the European Tour was enhanced.

The Troon International managed facility has been named both Abu Dhabi’s and the Middle East’s best golf course at the 5th annual World Golf Awards held in Spain over the weekend.

The World Golf Awards “celebrate and reward excellence in golf tourism, world-class courses and golf destinations”.

Votes are cast online by professionals working within the golf industry and by the general public, namely consumers of golf tourism. Abu Dhabi G.C. beat off the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Nofa Resorts in Saudi Arabia and the Montgomerie course at the Royal Golf Club in Bahrain for the Middle East gong.

Home to the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship which has been elevated to $7 million Rolex Series status this January, Abu Dhabi G.C., was rated eight in the latest edition of Golf Digest Middle East’s biennial Top 10 Courses in the Middle East rankings released in January.

“We are very happy to have received these accolades which place us as the top course in the United Arab Emirates,” said Abu Dhabi G.C.  general manager Ed Edwards.

Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s 14th hole

“Our team is fully dedicated to raising the standard of our championship course and this award is a testament to their tireless efforts.

“Abu Dhabi Golf Club has had a brilliant year bringing visitors to experience the amazing culture and golf on offer in Abu Dhabi, something which our members get to do week in, week out.”

Yas Links, meanwhile, won the title of the Middle East’s best 9-hole course, seeing off nominations from Al Mouj Golf and Ras Al Hamra in Muscat, and JA Jebel Ali Golf Resort and The Track, Meydan Golf in Dubai.

Arabian Greens Tours was named the Middle East’s best golf tour operator and the St. Regis Saadiyat Island the region;s leading golf hotel. The St Regis will coincidentally host the 6th World Golf Awards in October 2019.

The Old Course at St. Andrews was named the world’s best course while Portugal was judged the world’s premier golfing destination.

The post Abu Dhabi Golf Club win big at World Golf Awards appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It started with a DQ for inadvertently signing an incorrect second round scorecard at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in February. There followed a series of near MENA Tour misses (five top 3 finishes in all), frustration that spiralled downward dramatically when he contracted a “savage” bout of malaria during the circuit’s South African swing in June and ended up in a Pretoria hospital.

In September, the Yas Links attached 29-year-old was left “embarrassed” after missing the cut at the European Tour’s KLM Open, a performance he described as “absolutely useless”.  The misery (stick with us here) compounded when he failed to advance from the first stage of European Tour Q-School in Austria – by a single stroke – in a “devastating blow” a week later. 

Yet more heartache followed at the MENA Tour Championship in Ajman when, by the equivalent of a measly $121, he dropped to third in the OOM, denying him a shot at KLM Open redemption next year. He did earn a Desert Classic return and full Sunshine Tour status for 2018 although the illness in Pretoria may make a Asian Development Tour pass more appealing.

Ever the optimist, Joy carried on. And on Saturday, we are delighted to report, the perseverance finally paid of as Joy won the King Hamad Trophy at the Royal Club in Bahrain by five strokes from Joshua White.

Here’s the joyous moment via the Bahrain Golf Association’s new Instagram feed:

10th King Hamad Trophy Champion, Luke Joy making a birdie on the 18, well done Luke ??????

A post shared by Bahrain Golf Association (@bahraingolf) on Nov 18, 2017 at 4:39am PST

“Absolutely buzzing to get the job done today and get over the line first and want to thank the Bahrain Golf Association for the invite and hospitality, was a really well run event and look forward to returning next year,” said Joy who carded rounds of 67-66-68 despite the tricky greens.

“I think if they had the greens any quicker this week you could miss the green, from the green!”

A post shared by Bahrain Golf Association (@bahraingolf) on Nov 18, 2017 at 7:27am PST

Joy now has a well deserved day off today before the final kick of his season which includes a two-day Pro-Am in Dubai before his final event of the year in Equatorial Guinea next month, the 3E Actuaries Open in Mongomo.

“It’s always an event I look forward to playing and always seems to provide great entertainment.”

Much like Joy’s blog has all season. Here’s to a stellar finish to 2017 in Africa.

Final round results, 10th King Hamad Trophy 2017

A post shared by Bahrain Golf Association (@bahraingolf) on Nov 18, 2017 at 9:28pm PST

The post Finally some Joy as Luke wins King Hamad Trophy in Bahrain appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The front nine has been hardest hit by the 38ml rain fall with the approach and green on the par 4 8th hole worst affected. Pictures and video supplied by Phil Waine, Royal GC’s Director of Golf, shows water cascading down from a nearby road across the putting surface into what resembles a lake.

Royal GC’s agronomy team, headed by Irishman William Evans, have put in a herculean effort sand bagging around the 8th to try and deflect the water into a natural wadi that runs between the 3rd and 8th holes.

A car driving into the club is seen pushing water that nearly reaches its bonnet. The club has suffered some water damage in its restaurant and there are fears the perimeter wall at the front entrance may collapse as it is under water and the land around it is starting to subside.

“It’s intense, unbelievable…unbelievable,” said Waine.

“We’ve had quite a lot of rain through the week but not too bad and the course was playing okay. But at 5pm last night it started drizzling and just got heavier and heavier and it’s gone all the way through the night.

“Rain is not unusual here but I’ve spoken to a few people who have lived here a long time and they’ve never seen anything like this. So it’s a bit unique.”

The entire agronomy team had been called in to divert the water and begin the clean-up.

Waine is hopeful the disruption won’t linger.

“We’re closed now obviously but I think we’ll be open tomorrow.”

The post Bahrain’s Royal Golf Club <br> closed by heavy flooding appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.