Raising the stakes at MENA Tour’s first 72-hole tournament in Pattana

The MENA Tour breaks new ground this week when Pattana Golf Club and Resort hosts the tour’s first 72-hole event in a perfect climax to the tour’s three-event swing in Thailand.

The air is thick with anticipation as the event, which will see the upscale resort make its debut a host venue of the tour, will carry more Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points than the tour’s usual 54-hole tournaments, further spicing up the competition.

With Thai ace Prom Meesawat joining the starting line-up for the first time, the Pattana Golf Championship, starting today, will have a strong flavour, but things could change in a hurry as he’ll go against a deeply talented field which includes a slew of potential winners.

Meesawat, a 32-year- old Hua Hin native, racked up a creditable tied 13th at the European Tour’s Hero Indian Open and tied 15th at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic this year and will be keen to keep up the good work when he tees it alongside a strong field, represented by players from 25 countries.

Thai players lead with 33 entries, including three amateurs, closely followed by England (32), India (14) and South Africa (11) in refection of the tour’s growing popularity in Thailand and beyond.

Notables in the field, who will be aiming to step up to the plate and challenge Meesawat for honours, include England’s Zane Scotland, a 10-time winner on the tour, Luke Joy, who finished runner-up at last week’s Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen, as well as Lee Corfield and Craig Hinton, who all have strung together impressive streaks on the tour.

English cricketer-turned-golfer Craig Kieswetter and UAE Ahmed Al Musharrekh are also in the fray, hoping to make amends for missing the cut last week, along with Spain’s Leo Lilja, the winner of the MENA Tour’s season-opening Palmeraie Country Club Casablanca Open in Morocco earlier this year.

Dubai-based Michael Harradine of Switzerland and Thailand’s Worathon Zeng will lead the challenge in the amateur division that has attracted nine entries.

Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Tour, said: “We couldn’t have asked for a better venue to stage our landmark 72-hole tournament. I am confident it will become a permanent stop on the tour.

“With an impressive portfolio of world-class courses, Thailand has already established its credentials as one of the most popular golf destinations in the world and the addition of a new MENA Tour event at Pattana will further realise the country’s huge tourism potential.”