By Matt Smith
Thai teen sensation Ratchanon Chantananuwat and Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen clung on to the lead in the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup after Friday’s second round.

Chantananuwat, 15, and still studying at school, proved his stunning opening 63 at Siam Country Club’s Waterside Course was no fluke as his second-round 70 was good enough to hold on to top spot alongside Finnish Ladies European Tour (LET) star Nuutinen in Thailand.

The inaugural tournament — the first time the Asian Tour has staged a mixed event — is co-sanctioned with the LET, with all male and female players competing for the same trophy and share of the $750,000 purse.

RELATED: Thai teen Ratchanon Chantananuwat’s learning curve at Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup

Chantananuwat’s maturity was on display again as he comfortably handled the pressure. He sits on 11-under alongside Sanna — who turned 31 on Friday and is more than twice her co-leader’s age — after both players followed up their 63s with a pair of 70s.

“There was a lot more wind today than yesterday, so tough conditions but overall I am not really happy with the way I played,” said 15-year-old Ratchanon. “It wasn’t a great round, but it wasn’t that bad either. I scrambled two under and I am still in the lead, which is okay, but I could have been better. [For the weekend] I am just going to try and play like yesterday and go as deep as possible and play with less pressure.”

Sanna Nuutinen. Asian Tour

Nuutinen matched her young counterpart’s four birdies and two bogeys as she goes in search of her first LET win.

“I found the conditions a bit tougher today. The morning conditions were super windy, but now it’s dying down a bit and a couple of pins were tucked,” she said.

Bio Kim from South Korea, Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai and South African Ian Snyman are one shot back after rounds of 67, 69 and 67 respectively. American Sihwan Kim, the current leader of the Asian Tour Order of Merit, returned his second successive 68 and is just three behind the leaders.

Saudia Arabian pro Othman Almulla made it to the weekend as his 74 was just good enough to get inside the cut line on two-under.

However, Dubai-based Indian Shiv Kapur was on the wrong side of the line after a 74 on Friday left him at one-over. He will not have to wait long for another crack at the Siam course, however, as the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge begins on Wednesday, again as a groundbreaking co-sanctioned event between the Asian Tour and the LET.

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The post Teen sensation Chantananuwat and flying Finn Nuutinen cling on to Asian Mixed Cup lead appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Annabel Dimmock played a handy captain’s knock to lead her side to the top of the leader board after the opening round of the $500,000 Saudi Ladies Team International.

Dimmock, joined by fellow Englishwoman Charlotte Thompson, Norwegian pro Stina Reeson and amateur Ed Edwards (Golf Saudi) signed for a -17 total in a format where the two lowest scores on each hole count towards the team’s total.

Team Dimmock will take a one-stroke buffer over Team Nuutinen, as in Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen, heading into the second of three rounds at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on Wednesday. The side skippered by new Saudi Ladies International champion, Dane Emily Kristine Pedersen, are third a stroke further back.

Nuutinen produced Tuesday’s standout solo effort, the Finn’s six-under 66 earning her a two-stroke lead over Swede Johanna Gistavsson in the individual championship being held concurrently with the teams race.

RELATED: Ladies First: Why Saudi’s LET double-header is more than just an historic week of pro golf

Dimmock and Pedersen are among a group of six players who carded 69s. Dimmock says the team format strangely helped her play well individually.

“We were all trying to hit good shots for each other, and we certainly felt like it was a team event,” said Dimmock.

“Both Stina and I didn’t know our own score going down the 18th, and I usually know it. Stina got the first birdie on the fifth and we then we were like ‘let’s get the birdies going’. Then I holed my wedge shot on the next and then Charlotte got a birdie, so it was a real team effort.

1⃣7⃣ under & the top team
6⃣9⃣ -3 in the individual event

It’s been a great day for @AnnabelDimmock who is enjoying the experience of playing in a team event.#SaudiLadiesTeamIntl | #RaiseOurGame pic.twitter.com/YPFWIBc2d1

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 17, 2020

Dimmock and Thompson are best buddies on Tour but Resin is quickly making friends and influencing people with her impressive play.

“I hadn’t met Stina before the draw but once I knew she was in my team, we’ve all spent some time together and had a team practice yesterday. It’s been great to get to know another player on Tour,” said Dimmock.

Nuutinen’s round included an eagle on the 4th, six birdies and even a double-bogey.

“To be honest I drove the ball better last week and today was a struggle off the tee,” said Nuutinen. “But I still played my best round this week and was good on the greens and made a few putts. It’s such an advantage playing this course multiple times, as you can be really precise on yardages.

Sanna Nuutinen

“It still feels like an individual event as you can’t help your teammates, so you concentrate on your own game. But when someone in the team makes a birdie or the amateur makes a par I do give a little fist pump. It reminds me of amateur golf and being in the international team or college golf and being with a team.”

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Sweden’s Jenny Haglund created history with a hole-in-one on the 5th. Not only did she become the first women to make an ace in Saudi Arabia, she is the first player to record a perfect shot since Royal Greens joined the international fray with the Saudi International was first played at Royal Greens in Feb. 2019.

The ace is the sixth of Haglund’s career and fifth in tournament play, with the latest her third in three years.

? HOLE-IN-ONE ?

Massive congratulations to @JennyHaglund who aced the par-3 11th hole @royalgreens_ksa.

A historic moment becoming the first professional to get a tournament hole-in-one in Saudi Arabia ??#SaudiLadiesTeamIntl #LadiesFirst #RaiseOurGame pic.twitter.com/yuA07iX3PR

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 17, 2020

The post Team ‘Dimmock’ lead new Saudi Team Int. as Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen produces solo standout appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Adorned in patriotic white and blue, Noora Tamminen lead the flag-waving quintet with a hole in one on the opening day of the 12th OMEGA Dubai Ladies Classic.

The 27-year-old used a seven iron from 140 yards to ace just her second hole, the Majlis’ par 3 11th, en-route to a four under 68 that left her a shot back of the overnight leader, Thailand’s Supamas Sangchan.

Tamminen’s four-under loop of Emirates Golf Club was a topsy-turvy ride. After the ace she mixed five birdies with three bogeys in a score matched by four other players including compatriot Minea Blomqvist, a two-time Ladies European Tour winner.

Sanna Nuutinen and Ursula Wikstrom were the next best of the Finns with 73s, one-over rounds that left the pair on the projected cut mark. After a four over 76, Krista Bakker has work to do to survive the 36-hole cut and keep Finland’s party rolling.

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