15-year-old Rayhan Thomas the one to watch after Dubai Creek win

Joy Chakravarty 13:51 04/03/2015
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  • Teen prodigy: Rayhan Thomas (c).

    Rayhan Thomas, the 15-year-old prodigy, once again proved he is the one to watch in the future when he won the highly-competitive Dubai Creek Men’s Club Championship.

     After opening with a round of three-over par 74 on the par-71 course, Thomas began the second round four shots behind four-time club champion Miki Mirza, a former Emirates Golf Federation Order of Merit champion.

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     Playing the second round with Mirza and Max Burrow, who shot a 75 on the opening day, Thomas started to make his move early on as he made back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes to close the gap against Mirza.

     Things were pretty much bunched up after the front 9, with Thomas catching up with Mirza after a one-over 36. Mirza seemed to be struggling and made the turn in 40, while Burrow was just two shots back. Mirza managed a birdie on the par-5 10th, only for it to be matched by Thomas. Burrow made a few costly errors after the turn and seemed to fizzle away.

    Another birdie on the par-5 13th gave Thomas the edge as both his playing partners dropped a shot. The tricky 14th took this shot back as he made a bogey 4, but showed great composure to birdie the par-3 16th. A solid approach shot into the 17th would guarantee a par and gave Thomas a three-shot lead.

    Both players found the fairway off the tee on the 18th, but Mirza hit his second into the water and Thomas found the greenside bunker. He failed to find the green with his third, and failed to get up and down for a closing double bogey, but that was enough to be crowned the 2015 Dubai Creek Men’s Club Champion with a two-day total of 146.

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