By Kent Gray
MG Keyser is on the cusp of back-to-back titles but the MENA Tour’s most decorated player looms large in the rear view mirror of the history-hunting Dubai-based South African.

Fresh from victory at last week’s Dubai Creek Open, Keyser signed for his second successive 67 at the Els Club on Tuesday to move to -10 at the $30,000 Golf Citizen Classic.The 30-year-old Pretorian will start Wednesday’s final round with a two shot advantage over Welshman Toby Hunt, Pakistani Hamza Amin and, perhaps most ominously, Englishman Zane Scotland.

A back-injury has seriously curtailed Scotland’s 2017 campaign to the point where the 10-time MENA Tour winner was forced out of the Creek Open after just 27 holes. But the buzz of being in contention again certainly helped dull the pain as the tour’s first honourary (and only fully exempt) member backed up his opening 69 with a 67 Tuesday.

“I have not been playing golf for a long time due to a bad back. It’s still hurting, but it feels great just to give myself a chance this week [and] feel that buzz again of getting into contention,” said Scotland whose last MENA Tour win came at the 2016 Royal Golf Mohammed Open in Morocco.

“I don’t have too high expectations heading into the final round, we’ll see how things unfold. Of course, shooting a 67 has certainly added to my confidence.”

Keyser rebounded from a bogey-bogey start with four back-nine birdies and an eagle Tuesday in his bids to emulate Scotland, the only back-to-back winner on the MENA Tour.

“I missed at least four to five mid-range birdie putts on the front nine before finally holing one on the ninth. With that putt, my putter suddenly went hot,” said Keyser who flushed a five-iron from 222 yards to within 15 feet on the 13th before holing the eagle putt.

“I am striking the ball really well and just having fun out there.  You never know what tomorrow holds but one this is certain, I will go out there and have some fun.”

Sweden’s Oscar Hertzberg produced Tuesday’s highlight by holing a three-wood shot from 296 yards on the par-5 18th at the Els for the rarest of all golfing birds, an albatross

The glorious two was set up by a 340 yard drive, is just the second double eagle in MENA Tour history (following Moroccan Channane Addelali at the 2013 Royal Golf D’Anfa) and propelled the 22-year-old into a tie for 28th on +1, nine shots behind Keyser.

Overnight leader Abhishek Jha, meanwhile, endured a miserable day, his seven-over 79 littered with eight dropped shots including a triple bogey on the par-4 10th to slide down the leaderboard into a share of 23rd on level par.

Sweden’s Henric Sturehed and Max Smith were tied for fifth on -8, one clear of the English duo of Stuart Archibald and Craig Hinton, the 2016 MENA Tour champion.

Englishmen Taylor Carter and Todd Clements led the amateur division on +1, two shots ahead of Saud Al Sharif (Saudi Arabia) and German Marcus Toennessen. UAE national team rep Khalid Yousuf carded a level-par 72 to make the cut.

The post Zane Scotland, the MENA Tour’s only back-to-back winner, surprisingly poised to prevent MG Keyser emulating his feat appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Jha produced a bogey-free, seven-under-par 65 Monday to sit at the summit of the $30,000 Golf Citizen Classic leaderboard.

The 30-year-old from the southern Indian city of Bengaluru is two shots clear of Pakistani Hamza Amin and South African MG Keyser who carried on from where he left off at the Creek after capturing his maiden MENA Tour title.

“It could have been a great one [round] but I missed a few putts coming home. That’s golf. You can’t complain after opening with a 65,” said Jha who turned professional in 2010.

“I drove the ball well all day and holed some nice putts. Making those four birdies in a row from the third kind of kick-started my round. Overall, I played a good, solid round.”

Another South African, Teagan Moore, was solo fourth after a 68 while seven players carded three-under 69s, RAK Classic winner Peter Stojanovski (Australia), reigning order-of-merit champion Craig Hinton and his English compatriots Jamie Elson and Zane Scotland among them.

The steady start will be especially heartening for Scotland after the 10-time MENA Tour winner and the circuit’s only fully exempt player was forced to withdraw from the Creek Open after just 27 holes due to an on-going back injury.

Elson led this season’s order-of-merit race into the tour’s 10-week summer break but missed the resumption at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club last week as he successfully survived the first stage of European Tour Q-School in Scotland.

The 36-year-old former European Challenge Tour winner has stolen an early march on Fredrik From at The Els after the Swede took over top spot on the OOM with his T-4 finish at the Creek.

From signed for a even par 72 Monday to share 26th place with, among others, English amateurs Todd Clements (second equal last week with Presidents Cup-bound Indian No.1 Rayhan Thomas), Michael Gilbert and Jamie Richards. Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club amateur Michael Harradine opened with a 73 but it is the German, Marcus Toennessen, who leads the amateur leaderboard after a 71.

UAE’s Ahmed Al Musharrekh, three under through 13, had his chances to hit the front page of the leaderboard but dropped a couple of shots coming home and that left him sharing 26th on level-par.

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By Kent Gray
Fredrik From would dearly love to be the player to snap the MENA Tour’s streak of first-time winners when he tees it up in the Golf Citizen Classic at The Els Club, Dubai on Monday.

The 27-year-old Swede took full advantage of the absence of Jamie Elson and Luke Joy from last week’s Dubai Creek Open, leapfrogging the Englishmen all the way to the summit of the developmental circuit’s order-of-merit standings courtesy of a T-4 finish.

South African MG Keyser captured his maiden MENA Tour title following a tense battle with Junior Presidents Cup-bound teen Rayhan Thomas to become the 10th new winner in as many events this season.

From, who won the weather-shortened Pattana Golf Championship in May thanks to a closing 63, will be aware there is no better time to change that at The Els, especially with Joy against absent as he contests the multi-tournament first stage of European Tour Q-School in Austria.

Related: No KLM Open Joe as Luke eyes European Tour Q-School

Elson, however, is back and certainly wouldn’t mind keeping the first-timers streak rolling.  The 36-year-old Englishmen brings form with him to Dubai having advanced to the second stage of European Q-school courtesy of rounds of 70-72-68-72 at Roxburghe Hotel and Golf Course in Kelso, Scotland last week to finish T-11 at -6 (the top 22 advanced).

Related: Elson eyes the MENA Tour’s big prize

From can also anticipate a tough fight from Keyser who established the Creek course record of 61 last Monday (a -10 score emulated by Thomas the very next day). The South African is clearly comfortable going low, having recently looped The Els in 62 strokes in a friendly game.

MG Keyser arrives at The Els fresh from victory at last week’s Dubai Creek Open.

“I love this Els course and know what it takes to string together a low round. Hopefully, local knowledge will come in handy,” said Keyser, who considers the Els his “home club” and is playing the MENA Tour on a special Tour invitation.

“The confidence is there as I have been playing some good, solid golf for the last six months or so. I am really enjoying playing on the MENA Tour [but] there are a plenty of quality players who all can win on their day.”

Zane Scotland, handed the tour’s first and thus far only lifetime exemption during last season’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic, will play after withdrawing from the Creek last week with a reoccurrence of a back injury. The Englishman, who holds a record 10 MENA Tour titles, last won at the 2016 Royal Golf Mohammed Open in Morocco.

Also confirmed are 2016 OOM champion Craig Hinton and fellow Englishmen Andrew Marshall, Jake Shepherd and Lee Corfield, who all have all won a minimum of two MENA Tour titles previously.

England’s Todd Clements, T-2 with Thomas last week, will be the amateur to watch this week with Thomas headed for New Jersey for the Sept 25-26 Junior Presidents Cup. Saudi Arabia’s Othman Almulla, who emerged as the best amateur from the MENA region last week, and the UAE’s Ahmed Al Musharrekh will be the Arab players under the microscope in a event that attracted 130 entries (including 30 amateurs) from 26 countries.

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