Hinton edges towards maiden MENA Golf Tour win at RAK Classic

Joy Chakravarty 00:11 04/05/2016
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  • Craig Hinton leads by one shot.

    At Tower Links Golf Club Wednesday, Craig Hinton started the day in a share of the lead with Scotland, but finished one shot ahead of his rival after a second-round 68 helped him reach nine-under par for the tournament.

    Fellow Englishman Scotland, who backed up his opening 67 with a 69, was second at eight-under par, while Spain’s Carlos Balmaseda matched Hinton’s 68 to occupy solo third on seven-under.

    England’s Daniel Owen carded his personal best 67 in a MENA Golf Tour event to haul himself back into contention at six-under par, where he was joined by Tunnicliff, who added a 70 to his opening-round 68.

    A three-time runner-up on the MENA Tour, Hinton sounded confident going the full distance this time around.

    “I have been driving the ball well and my putting has been pretty solid,” said the Englishman, who mixed five birdies with a lone bogey at the sixth hole.

    “It’s just that I need to work a bit more on my iron and wedge play which is kind of so-so.”

    Scotland, who made eight birdies and three bogeys in his 67 on Monday, kept the mistakes away, although the birdie count dropped to three.

    Owen, the 26-year-old Bahrain-based Englishman, is also seeking his maiden win on the Tour and he did his chances no harm with a bogey-free round that featured five birdies.

    “I played really well. Gave myself a plenty of opportunities out there and holed some nice putts, especially on the back nine,” said Owen, who produced the highlight of the day on the 12th, draining a long 45-foot birdie putt.

    “I have been striking the ball really good. It’s just that my putting felt so solid and decisive and that made the difference.”

    Top UAE amateur Rayhan Thomas carded a level-par 72 stay in the frame for a strong finish at three under. The young prodigy raced to four-under after his first 10 holes, but a wayward drive on the 14th resulted in a double-bogey and undid all the good work.

    Tied for 11th place overall, Thomas still leads the amateur division by a four shots over Saudi Arabia’s Othman Almulla, who carded a second round 73.

    The half-way cut was made at five-over-par with 51 professionals and nine amateurs making it to the final round. The first group will go out at 7am today.

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