Just 24-hours after Parisian Antoine Schwartz fired a 62 at Dubai Hills Golf Club to tie Keyser and Dubai amateur Rayhan Thomas for the MENA Tour’s lowest round – 10-under – in relation to par, Keyser snatched it right back.

A new course-record 11-under 61 on Wednesday not only righted the record books but earned the Dubai-based South African a two stroke lead over Schwartz and Journey to Jordan money-list leader Matthew Baldwin heading into Thursday’s final round of the Troon Series – Dubai Open presented by Turkish Airlines.

Not even a sudden hail storm could cool Keyser in his sizzling second round; the 32-year-old returned after the brief delay to play his final seven holes in seven under en-route to the record.

Keyser with his historic scorecard at Dubai Hills G.C. The 61 was the lowest score in relation to par in the eight-year history of the MENA Tour

Baldwin fired a 63 and Schwartz a 69 to move to 13-under par for the championship. Given the low scoring thus far, Keyser knows he’ll have to go low Thursday if he is to make the most of his two-shot buffer and secure a third MENA Tour title, the $13,500 winner’s cheque and the invite to the Challenge Tour’s Slovakia Challenge (July 4-7) that would go with it.

But Keyser, who has been Dubai-domiciled for the past four years and now attached to Jumeirah Golf Estates, is clearly trending nicely after losing a playoff at the Troon Series – Al Zorah Open a fortnight ago.

His recent swing work with Englishman Zane Scotland, the MENA Tour’s most successful player with 10 titles, is clearly paying off. That said, Keyser thought he’d blown his chance at a low score on Wednesday when he bloked his drive on the par-5 8th hole into the water en-route to a bogey. 

“I made a silly bogey there and was really annoyed with it,” said Keyser, the world No. 342.

“We then had the brief rain delay and I just went back and played really well. I am going through some swing changes with Zane and it is difficult to trust them when it gets windy like it has been the last few tournaments. But after that rain, the conditions were just perfect and I was able to score coming in.”

Indeed.

The cut was applied at one-under par 143 and 52 professionals made it to Thursday’s final round.

England’s Ben Davies (68) leads the amateur race on five-under par 139, a shot ahead of compatriot Jack Floydd (70). Dubai-based 14-year-old Josh Hill also shot a 68 and lurks at three-under par.

The post MG Keyser snatches back MENA Tour record with 61 at Dubai Hills, on cusp of third title appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 29-year-old Frenchman eventually settled for a 62 at Dubai Hills Golf Club and a five-shot lead over England’s Benjamin David, Scot Craig Ross and Dutchman Pierre Junior Verlaar heading into Wednesday’s second round.

Schwartz also has a share of two records to cling on to as others need to make big moves on moving day; his 10-under-par effort matched the developmental tour’s lowest round in relation to par, a mark he now owns with South Africa’s MG Keyser and Dubai amateur Rayhan Thomas who both shot 61s at the 2017 Dubai Creek Open. His five-shot buffer also matched the circuit’s largest 18-hole lead, equalling the advantage Zane Scotland enjoyed at the 2013 Royal Golf Dar Es Salam Open, a tournament the Englishman went on to win for the third of his record 10 MENA Tour wins.

The story behind this sensational card by Antoine Schwartz…https://t.co/DEt9L2fLNp pic.twitter.com/uldjoCBheW

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) March 5, 2019

Schwartz, who topped the Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit in 2016 and qualified for the European Challenge Tour last year, was two-under par after four holes with birdies on the 1st and 3rd, before unleashing a flurry of stunning shots over the next eight holes.

He birdied seven of them and eagled the 11th before cooling down. A bogey on par-4 16th, where he hit a wedge shot from the middle of the fairway into the greenside bunker and failed to make his up-and-down was his only mistake of the day. The 10-under par 62 round was his best as a professional, bettering an eight-under-par 62 four years ago in Austria.

“It was just an unbelievable day. I hit so many good shots today. Everything was just perfect,” said Schwartz, playing his first season on the MENA Tour.

“Of course, you are thinking about a 59. The last five-six holes here are tough, and even more in the windy conditions that we faced almost throughout the day. I just tried to stay aggressive and I even gave myself a couple of chances, but it was not to be. I’d love to shoot 62 every day, but this one was very special because the golf course wasn’t playing easy because of the wind.”

Schwartz hit 16 greens in regulation and needed just 24 putts to finish his round.

“I was doing everything well, but I think the key was that I did not miss a single putt from inside four meters (12 feet),” said Schwartz.

“I spoke to my coach, Guillaume Biaugeaud, last night and I told him that I felt I was getting too technical over my putts. He told me to just concentrate on the speed and hit my putt and not to think about the line. It worked.”

BITE-SIZE INTERVIEW
(With Antoine Schwartz)

After getting to 11-under par through 12 holes on a tough scoring day at @DubaiHillsGolf, Schwartz had 59 on his mind before finishing on 10-under 62 in Troon Series – Dubai Open presented by @T_A_Golf#HBFS #JourneyToJordan@troonint pic.twitter.com/44KWUOzYx5

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) March 5, 2019

Seven players were tied for fifth at four-under-par after 68s. That group included Scotland, Journey to Jordan money-list leader Matthew Baldwin and fellow Englishman Luke Joy who was forced out of last week’s tournament at Ghala Golf Club after a suspected case of food poisoning.

England’s Jack Floydd was the best of the 11 amateurs in the 120-strong field with a two-under-par 70, followed by his compatriots Curtis Knipes and Ben Davies (both 71).

The winner this week earns an invite to the European Challenge Tour’s Slovakia Challenge (July 4-7).

Dubai Open – Leading 1st Round Scores (par-72)
62 – Antoine Schwartz (FRA)
67 – Benjamin David (ENG), Craig Ross (SCO), Pierre Junior Verlaar (NED)
68 – Peter Stojanovski (MAC), Zane Scotland (ENG), Luke Joy (ENG), MG Keyser (RSA), Scott Henry (SCO), Jake Ayres (ENG), Matthew Baldwin (ENG)|
69 – Tom Shadbolt (ENG), Todd Clements (ENG), Karl Abledinger (AUT), Stefan Still (GER), Alasdair Plumb (SCO), Sam Hobday (ENG), Victor Riu (FRA)
70 – Ryan Evans (ENG), Steve Webster (ENG), Conor O’Neil (SCO), Clemens Prader (AUT), Jake Shepherd (ENG), Jack Floydd (Am-ENG), Adam Sagar (ENG), Jack Doherty (SCO), Mathias Weiderman (SWE), Seve Benson (ENG), Rocco Sanjust (ITA)
71 – Max Smith (ENG), Robert Harrhy (ENG), Richard Bland (ENG), Leo Lilja (ESP), Lucas Norman (SWE), Daniel Owen (ENG), Robin Roussel (FRA), Ben Davies (AM-ENG), Leonhard Asti (AUT), Constantin Schwiertz (GER), Kyson Lloyd (ENG), Lionel Weber (FRA), Curtis Knipes (AM-ENG)
72 – Joshua Greenville-Wood (ENG), Jose Rolz (GUA), Mark James (ENG), Tim Gornik (SLO), Robert Dinwiddie (ENG), James Allan (ENG), Aaron Leitmannstetter (GER), Jack McDonald (SCO), Maarten Bosch (NED), Erik Jonasson (SWE), Gabriel Axell (SWE), Oliver Ross (AM-ENG), Joshua White (ENG), Lindsay Renolds (CAN), Christopher Mivis (BEL), William Nygard (SWE), Daniel Gaunt (AUS).

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