MENA’s Joudar and Badawy impress on day one of Dubai Creek Open

Sport360 staff 20:35 15/09/2014
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  • Good start: Amine Joudar had a fine first round.

    Morocco’s Amine Joudar and Peter Badawy of Lebanon shot matching 69s to finish just one shot off the pace in the opening round of the MENA Golf Tour’s Dubai Creek Open on Monday.

    Joudar went bogey free in his first round while Badawy mixed four birdies with two bogeys as the two MENA region players made an encouraging start, joining five others, including England’s Lee Corfield, on two-under-par on a hot and humid day which saw 17 players break par.

    The English duo of Craig Vance (amateur) and James Housby joined New Zealand’s Trevor Marshall atop the leaderboard after opening with contrasting three-under 68s.

    A well-known face on the MENA Golf Tour, Marshall raced to four-under after the 13th, but a double-bogey on the 15th undermined his efforts. He picked up shots on the 16th and 17th to recover some ground before finishing with a bogey.

    In contrast, Housby played steady, his only blemish on the card being a bogey on the 17th. Six birdies and three bogeys highlighted the round of Vance.

    “I played quite steady and it was nice to finish with a birdie,” said the 27-year-old Housby. “You have got to patient out there and wait for your chances. There are some holes (from first to six) where you can play aggressively, but on certain holes you have to adopt a conservative strategy,” he said.

    Morocco’s Joudar was more than pleased with his day's work.

    “It's been a long time since I've played like that. The fact that I hit 16 greens in regulation shows I am on top of my game. I could have birdied the 8th as well, but missed an easy putt from three feet.

    “You never know what tomorrow holds, but I feel like I’m in good position,” said the Rabat-based golfer, who has moved into a tie for fourth along with Badawy, Shafiq Masih of Pakistan, Clarke Lutton of Scotland, Maurice Jeffries (US), Conway Kunneke (South Africa) and Corfield.

    UAE’s Ahmed Al Musharrekh and Morocco’s Younes El Hassani carded an identical one-over-par 72 while Faycal Serghini, who is currently leading the Order of Merit for the MENA nationals, stumbled to a six-over 77.

    Among the notables, Stephen Dodd, a three-time winner on the European, double-bogeyed the last to finish at one-under 71 while Joshua White, the winner of the 2014 MENA Golf Tour’s opening event in Rabat, settled for a three-over 74.

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