Joshua White shot a sparkling five-under 66 to surge to the top of the leaderboard as young Rayhan Thomas kept his hopes alive of becoming the first amateur to win a MENA Golf Tour event, going into the final round of the Dubai Creek Open.
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Playing in yesterday’s very first group, White took advantage of slightly more receptive conditions at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, going bogey-free to reach eight-under, one ahead of Austria’s Florian Praegant and three clear of Englishman Jake Shepherd and overnight leader Thomas.
Defending champion Luke Joy, who carded a second-round 70, was a further shot adrift on four under as Spain’s Xavier Puig and Scotland’s Daniel Kay shared sixth place on three under.
Thomas, the 15-year-old Dubai-based prodigy from India, three-putted the 18th to return a level-par 71, but fancies his chances of going the full distance today.
“I struck the ball really well, especially with my irons, and created many birdie opportunities, but didn’t putt as well as I did in the first round – and that made the difference,” said Thomas, who opened with a 66.
“You never know what tomorrow holds, but the way I have played in the first two rounds has given me enough confidence. I think I can win,” added Thomas, the current holder of the Emirates Golf Federation’s Order of Merit title.
New pace-setter White was equally upbeat about his chances of winning his second title on the tour following his success at the 2014 Royal D’Anfa Open in Morocco.
“Overall, I am very pleased with my efforts. I needed to avoid bogeys on my card to ensure every birdie counted and I did exactly that,” said White, the 2014 MENA Golf Tour champion.
“I gave myself plenty of scoring opportunities and, more importantly, converted them which was the key,” said White, who reeled off three birdies in each half.
WHITE SPARKLES: @joshuawhitegolf clubhouse leader at – 8 after a second round 66 @MenaGolfTour Dubai Creek Open @golfindubai
— MENA Golf Tour (@MENAGolfTour) September 15, 2015
“The greens are just fantastic. I think the first 13 holes here offer good scoring chances, but coming down the stretch you need to have a good strategy to round off a good round. I feel like I’m in great position and look forward to playing the final round. “He made it look really easy,” complimented Malcolm Mackenzie, White’s playing partner.
On ‘moving day’, as the penultimate round in golf is often referred to, Gary King of England made the biggest charge, matching the day’s best score of a 66 to dip into red figures.
Rising Moroccan amateur Ayoub Lguirati led the MENA Division on three over after a second round 70, one ahead of compatriots Younes El Hassani, Faycal Serghini, Amine Joudar and Mustapha El Maouas, raising the prospects of a tense finish for the Shaikh Maktoum Foundation Award that honours top performers from the region.
The cut was made at five over and, among the notables who missed out on playing the final round, were the English duo of Miles Tunnicliff and Yasin Ali.
