Luke hoping to extend his Joy with back-to-back wins

Joy Chakravarty 08:01 22/09/2014
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  • Cup of joy: Luke won on Tour debut.

    Luke Joy, winner of Dubai Creek Open last week, is hoping to ride on his hot form and become a back-to-back winner on the MENA Golf Tour when the Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open starts at the Al Badia Golf Club today.

    The 26-year-old Englishman won on his first start on the Tour and appeared confident of do­ing well again despite the fact that some of the most established stars of the Tour – including multiple winners Zane Scotland, European Tour veteran Stephen Dodd and Matt Fitzpatrick – are among those in the 126-player field.

    “It is like any other golf tourna­ment for me – you go into it and you don’t want to come second,” said Joy.

    “Last week was a fantastic confi­dence booster for me. I had a great week before that in Scotland in the first stage of the European Tour Qualifying School. So, I am on a bit of a run at the moment.

    “This game can throw horrible curveballs at you, so when you are on a good stretch, you’ve got to run with it. I am going to play with ex­actly the same attitude as last week – just play my golf as well as I can and if the numbers add up, I have done my job.”

    Also in the field, which includes 26 amateurs, are Joshua White, who is currently leading the Order of Merit after the first three events on the tour this season, and James Allan, who heads the Order of Merit standings for amateurs. They will be joined by the Order of Merit champions of the previous three years – Jake Shepherd, Scotland and Dodd.

    With six victories under his belt since the inception of the tour in 2011, Scotland will return to defend his title at Al Badia Golf Club.

    But the 32-year-old Englishman, who is also a golf in DUBAi ambas­sador, played down expectations, saying: “Golf is a great leveller. What has happened is history.

    “It’s a new tournament and you have to play as well as you can and hope for the best. There’s no secret formula.” 

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