Marta masters The Ladies
Jumeirah Golf Estates are up and rolling into the new golf season, and the latest edition of The Ladies took place over the Earth course earlier this week. The 18-hole individual stableford event was claimed by Marta Balaguer with 33 points, thanks to five net birdies and a scorching back-nine run. Joo Yun Lee (30 points) had to settle for second place, but a countback meant she finished ahead of Sylvie Martin.

Jumeirah Golf Estates

Sethi cools the Fire Course
Jumeirah Golf Estates held the September OMA Emirates Medalford, with a strong field of 91 lining up on the Fire Course. It was Vidur Sethi who to the September bragging rights with his net 66 meaning a two-shot win. The Gents Division A was won by Francisco Zini with a net 68 ahead of Alan McNamara on countback. The Gents Division B winner was Ravi Khanna with a net 69. Roma Khanna claimed the Ladies Division.

Al Ain Equestrian Golf and Shooting Club

Al Ain Par 3 Series returns
Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club welcomed the new season with the return of the nine-hole Al Ain Par 3 Series as Virginia Macedo topped the Ladies Division on Net 23, one ahead of Hannah Rudling and Nina Dordevic. The Mens champ was Jaco Oostheuizen (25), as Jackson Rapsey had to settle for second spot.

Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club

Thomson wins in Sharjah
Former Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club captain Rory Thomson claimed his home clubs Monthly Stableford with 38 points, one ahead of George Liu. Sami Butt took the best Gross score on 34.

Tower Links

Andy Nisbet RAKs up the points
There was also a Monthly Stableford at Ras Al Khaimah’s Tower Links, with Andy Nisbet prevailing on 36 points, racking up five more than second-placed Craig Mainey in second spot, after he scored 31 Stableford points over the desert and parkland layout.

The post The Gulf Club: All the latest golf news from around the UAE appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The European Tour welcomed the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA) to the Race to Dubai decider last November. The MENA Tour by Arena has picked up the baton and really run with it.

The regional developmental circuit has reached an agreement with the EDGA that will give players with an official World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) and a handicap of 4.4 or less a chance to tee it up on one of three MENA Tour event in the next two months.

With the blessing of the European Tour, the EDGA held two events on the sidelines of the Scottish Open and DP World Tour Championship last year. The MENA Tour has taken it a step further by welcoming golfers of determination into already established events. Four EDGA-registered players can apply for invites to the Ras Al Khaimah Open (Tower Links G.C., March 29-April 1); the Northern Emirates Open (Al Hamra G.C., April 5-8) and the Al Ain Classic (Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club, April 12-15).

EDGA President Tony Bennett praised the MENA Tour for its latest effort to embrace inclusivity in golf.

“MENA Tour by Arena have shown great vision in making this agreement to include golfers with a disability in this exciting Tour by opening up these invitations,” Bennett said. “The agreement will encourage other organisations to take their responsibility to make golf a truly inclusive game more seriously.

“Such initiatives help create a trickle-down effect and grows awareness of the sport, even for those who have not yet considered golf to be a sport of their choice.”

In Addition to the two European Tour events last year, 12 players competed alongside the professionals in the Australian All Abilities Championship.

“At the MENA Tour by Arena, we want to be proactive in creating awareness and facilitating change, and also play a role in growing the game,” said Wayne Johnson, MENA Tour Tournament Director and Player Liaison Official.

“We are thrilled to announce this opportunity for golfers with disability to play alongside our professionals at three world-class venues in the UAE.

“Last season, the MENA Tour, along with our main sponsors Arena Middle East & Asia, announced we will refrain from using single-use plastic water bottle as part of our commitment to the environment, and this agreement with the EDGA is another example of us being socially responsible.”

Letters of application should be sent to the EDGA Director of Tournaments, Manon Eggermont at manon@edgagolf.com. The closing date for applications for EDGA members for each tournament will be one week before the closing date of entries for the tournament.

After wins for Englishman David Langey and Frenchman Sebastien Gros at the Journey to Jordan #1 Championship and NEWGIZA Open respectively, the MENA Tour moves to Oman this week for the Ghala Open in Muscat.

The post MENA Tour welcomes golfers with disabilities into regional circuit fold appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Josh Hill can’t wait to let his golf clubs do the talking again.

The Dubai teen’s life has been a whirlwind of media appointments since his historic Al Ain Open triumph last Wednesday when he eclipsed Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa as the youngest winner of an Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) event. He finally returned to his natural habitat for a practice round at Tower Links yesterday ahead of the $75,000 Ras Al Khaimah Open by Arena and it was clearly a relief after the hectic week that was.

RELATED: Hill creates world history as MENA Tour’s fourth – and youngest – amateur champion

“It just feels great to be back on a golf course. It feels like I am back home,” said Hill on the eve of the MENA Tour’s final regular-season stop.

“The last few days have been pretty crazy. I have been asked for interviews quite a few times. But I guess you have got to do them, keep level-headed and keep playing golf. I just can’t wait to get back there tomorrow.

“I did not think much of it until BBC and Sky Sports started showing it and then I thought ‘Wow, it was a pretty big achievement’. It was all over social media, so it must have been good.”

Social media has been abuzz with Hill’s achievement, the latest virtual doff of the cap coming from Japan’s ‘Bashful Prince’ himself during the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship in his homeland. Ishikawa previously held the record at 15 years and eight months before Hill fired a -17 total to win at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club aged 15 years, six months and 27 days.

RELATED: Sir Nick Faldo, Danny Willett lead tributes to new world record holder Hill

‘Oh wow! Congratulations!!’

Japan’s ‘Bashful Prince’ reacts to Josh Hill breaking his world record of the youngest player to win a @owgr_ltd event at Al Ain Open by Arena.

Video courtesy: @Swinging_Swamy from the Zozo Championship in Japan. pic.twitter.com/Yl2l7UyU3B

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) October 27, 2019

In a mouth-watering trio, Hill has been paired with the Journey To Jordan amateur Order of Merit leader Curtis Knipes and the another Englishman, Robin ‘Tiger’ Williams, who won the Journey To Jordan #2 a few weeks ago at Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba, Jordan.

Hill with countryman and fellow amateur MENA Tour winner Robin ‘Tiger’Williams. Photo: Joy Chakravarty/MENA Tour.

“I am really looking forward to this week. I have got a great group tomorrow in Robin and Curtis. What happened in Al Ain is now in the past. I am just looking forward to staying humble, playing some good golf and enjoying myself this week,” he added.

At the end of the Ras Al Khaimah Open by Arena, the ‘Penultimate Four’ incentive – a spot at the Panasonic India Open and the Thailand Open on the Asian Tour next month – will be decided. Amateur Williams leads the standings going into the week but it will be a close battle with South African professional MG Keyser, Australian journeyman Daniel Gaunt, Hill and Knipes all in the hunt.

The 54-hole tournament at Tower Links starts Monday, with the first tee time scheduled for 6.50am UAE time. The cut will be applied for the top 48 pros and ties after the second round.

‘PENULTIMATE FOUR’ STANDING (Top Five, after Al Ain Open by Arena)
1.            Robin ‘Tiger’ Williams (Am, ENG) 18,918
2.            MG Keyser (SA) 17,424
3.            Daniel Gaunt (AUS) 16,039
4.            Josh Hill (Am, ENG) 15,700                                         
5.            Curtis Knipes (Am, ENG) 15,250           

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By Kent Gray
It will still be known as the ‘Journey to Jordan’ but that’s about where the similarities between the current MENA Tour by Arena season and new-look 2020 schedule end. 

New events in Oman and the UAE – the latter an Alfred Dunhill Links Championship-style Pro-Am over 54 holes – two multi-venue tournaments (albeit at familiar courses) and a $25,000 increase in the purse for the season-ending tour championship headline next season’s schedule unveiled today.

RELATED: Arena become ‘umbrella sponsor’ of MENA Tour

Also gone for 2020 are the current spring and autumn swings, replaced instead by a condensed four-month season, again encompassing a two-stage Qualifying School at Ayla G.C. in late January. Q-School is immediately followed by the first event of the season proper, the Journey to Jordan #1 Championship, also at Ayla Golf Club.

With Aqaba in Jordan back as the tour’s destination partner, Ayla G.C. will again host four events (Q-School and three main season stops) including The Arena (Tour) Championship. The April 19-23 Journey to Jordan decider will be 72-holes for the first time since the 2017 Tour Championship, features an increased prize fund of $125,000 and becomes a full-field event for the first time in what will be the eighth season of the MENA Tour.

The increased playing opportunities and increased Official World Golf Ranking points (five OWGR points to the Arena Championship winner as it has become a four-round event) are by design, not necessity. David Spencer, Strategic Advisor to the MENA Tour, explains the rationale behind the radical rejig.

“There are two very good reasons why we decided to have the Tour schedule packed in one continuous stretch rather than have two legs in Spring and an Autumn,” said Spencer.

“Most development Tours do not start until the end of April, mostly because of the playing conditions in Europe. We are fortunate to have perfect weather in the Middle East during that period. This gives our players a solid run of tournaments, which is great preparation for them going into the summer. Also, it just simplifies things logistically for our players and makes the cost of ‘life’ on the Tour more affordable.

“With the multitude of playing opportunities we provide on European, Asian and the Challenge Tours, the new-look schedule dovetails perfectly with the other Tours.”

RELATED: MENA Tour breakthrough a ‘massive” confidence boost for Allan

The first of the circuit’s new events, the Muscat Open, is to be hosted by at Muscat Hills from Feb. 10-13. The Muscat Open is the first of back-to-back events in Oman ahead of The Ghala Open at Ghala Golf Club (Feb. 16-19).

Muscat Hills G.C.

Troon International venues will feature prominently in the circuit’s new multi-course events. The first, the ‘Triple Crown’ in March, will be co-hosted by Yas Links, Saadiyat Beach G.C. and Abu Dhabi G.C. while Al Hamra has joined forces with existing host venue Al Zorah in Ajman to co-host the Northern Emirates Open.

In another first, the MENA Tour by Arena Invitational Pro-Am will be modelled on the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. A venue and purse for the MENA Tour’s iteration has yet to be announced but it will be staged in the UAE and is in the schedule for Mar. 22-25, the week after Abu Dhabi’s Triple Crown.

A minimum of 30 players from each stage of Q-School will secure their cards for the season.

MENA TOUR BY ARENA – 2020 SCHEDULE
Jan. 20-23: Qualifying School A – Ayla GC, Aqaba, Jordan ($6,000)
Jan. 26-29: Qualifying School B – Ayla GC, Aqaba, Jordan ($6,000)
Feb. 2-5: Journey to Jordan #1 – Ayla GC, Aqaba, Jordan ($75,000)
Feb. 10-13: The Muscat Open – Muscat Hills GC, Muscat, Oman ($75,000)
Feb. 16-19: The Ghala Open – Ghala GC, Muscat, Oman ($75,000)
Feb. 23-26: The Bahrain Open – Royal GC, Bahrain ($75,000)
Mar. 1-4: Journey to Jordan #2 – Ayla GC, Aqaba, Jordan ($75,000)
Mar. 15-18: The Triple Crown – Yas Links/Saadiyat Beach GC/Abu Dhabi GC ($75,000)
Mar. 22-25: MENA Tour by Arena Invitational Pro-Am – UAE TBA (Purse TBA)
Mar. 29-April 1: Ras Al Khaimah Open – Tower Links GC, RAK ($75,000)
April 5-8: Northern Emirates Open – Al Hamra GC, RAK/Al Zorah GC, Ajman ($75,000)
April 12-15 TBA – Venue TBA ($75,000)
April 19-23 The Arena Championship – Ayla GC, Aqaba, Jordan ($125,000)

The post Innovative events and new venues highlight ‘condensed’ 2020 MENA Tour schedule appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Representing DSA Architects International, managing director Kelshaw and teammate Rix earned the dream trip to Cascais by clinching the 2016-17 UAE title at Tower Links Golf Club after 22 pairs reached the regional decider following a series of club qualifying events .

DSA Architects International managing director Steve Kelshaw anxiously watches a drive at Tower Links

They signed for a combined stableford score of 67 to win by three points from Kim Gade and Christina Lechedahl. Gade and Lechedahl. edged Chris Robert and Joon Eun on countback after also scoring 64 points.

Tournament promoters OnCourse Golf confirmed that the UAE leg of the WCGC would continue under the Dubai-based company’s management next season with the ongoing support of many of the current sponsors: RAK TDA, BMW/AGMC, Fenix, Kidz First, Mediclinic, Qantas, Palmers, Santa Fe Relocations, Dubai Duty Free, Hydroturf, Argantira and Golf Italy.

Mark Rix

UAE Grand Final – Final results
Champions: Steve Kelshaw and Mark Rix
Runners Up: Kim Gade and Christina Lechedahl
Third Place: Chris Robert and Joon Eun

Nearest the pin (presented by Santa Fe): Mizu
Nearest the pin (Mediclinic): Joon Eun
Nearest the pin (Argentario): Rob Horridge
Nearest the pin (Golf Italy): Sanjay Dhandsa
Nearest the pin (Qantas): Rob Kelshaw
Nearest the pin (BMW): Mizu
Nearest the pin (Kids First): Joon Eun
Nearest the pin (Hydroturf): Namir Al Naimi
Nearest the pin (OnCourse Golf): Christina Lechedahl

Pictured in the main photo, Matteo Prato from title sponsor RAK Tourism and Development Authority presents Rix and Kelshaw with their prizes.

The post Kelshaw and Rix tame Tower Links to earn wings to World Corporate Golf Challenge final in Portugal appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 22-year-old Sydneysider rattled off six back nine birdies in a final round 66 to finish -13, three shots clear of Englishmen Andrew Marshall and Jamie Elson who shared second.

Owen had started the final round with a five shot lead after back-to-back 66s but stumbled to a 10-over 82 to finish -2 in a disappointing share of 23rd.

The Englishman’s spectacular reverse – six bogeys and doubles on the par 5 13th and 18th holes – brought back memories of a similarly spectacular collapse by his fellow Englishman Jake Shepherd, who also blew a five-shot lead, incidentally in the same tournament in 2011.

Stojanovski turned professional at the 2014 Dubai Creek Open and became the first Australian to win a MENA Tour title at an event he clearly enjoys; his previous best finish was a top 6 at Tower Links in 2014.

“I am really delighted to win for the first time on the MENA Tour. I played some solid golf and really pleased to get the job done,” Stojanovski said after receiving the winner’s cheque for $7200 from Tower Links GM Simon Payne and the MENA Tour’s Trevor Varri.

“I just played my own game and didn’t think about what others were doing around me. I focused on every golf shot that I hit and that helped,”

“I started off okay, but finished strongly. My short game was quite good and I holed some nice putts when I needed to. Overall, just kind of everything fell together.

Owen’s stunning meltdown notwithstanding, idyllic conditions at Tower Links brought a raft of red-figure rounds with Marshall leading the way, his sparkling 65 moving the Englishman up from overnight tied 17th to second overall.

England’s Josh Walsh and Germany’s Georg Schultes matched Marshall’s best score of the tournament to climb up the leaderboard as Welshman Stephen Dodd, who started the day in a tie for second, settled for tied 13th on five under after a final round 74.

Walsh joined fellow Englishmen Max Williams and Stuart Archibald for a share of fourth on -9 while Schultes finished in a three-way tie for seventh a further shot adrift.

England’s Todd Clements comfortably kept up his dominance in the amateur division, carding a tidy 68 to finish on -7 to beat his nearest challenger Tiago Lobo of Brazil by five shots as Sam Hobday, who also returned a final round 68, settled for third a further shot back.

Next up on the MENA Tour is a three-event Thailand swing that gets under way with the MahaSamutr Masters, sponsored by MahaSamutr Country Club, Hua Hin, at Banyan Golf Club on May 2.

A guaranteed spot in the PGA Tour’s 2018 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational (for the MENA Tour champion), multiple European Tour starts, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Hassan II Trophy, Maybank Championship Malaysia, and the KLM Open, await the MENA Tour’s leading performers, in addition to playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour, and exemptions into the Final Stage of the Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour Q-Schools.

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