The 42-year-old made five birdies and an eagle against three bogeys to join the English trio of Joshua White, Andrew Marshall and Adam Sagar in tied second place, just one shot behind Sweden’s Fredrik Lindblom, who opened with a tidy 67.
India’s Rayhan Thomas, who has climbed to 852th place from 1,139th in the world golf rankings following his victory at the Dubai Creek Open last week, continued his impressive form, carding a three-under par 69 to occupy solo sixth.
Tiago Lobo, the Abu Dhabi-based amateur from Brazil, was in a three-man group a further shot back on two-under par alongside Antonio Costa and Shafiq Masih.
A regular on the Tour since its inception in 2011, El Hassani is hoping to become the second winner from his country.
Crediting his ball-striking for the good round, the 42-year-old said: “I missed two greens, but had great fun playing on this course even though the blazing sun made things a bit difficult. I missed shorts putts at three and six, both from two feet which was a shame.”
Very well done @AhmedMusharrekh - starts at @AlBadiaGolfClub with a three-under par 69. @MENAGolfTour @Sport360
— Joy Chakravarty (@TheJoyofGolf) September 12, 2016
The highlight of El Hassani’s round was when he holed a long 30-footer for an eagle on the eighth after finding the green with his three-wood from 245 yards.
Lindblom made seven birdies and a bogey on either halves of the golf course for his 67 and said: “I played very solid golf, missed just two greens. I have been working really hard on my putting. It was nice to see putts falling in. I could have done even better, but you can’t complain after a 67.”
Defending champion Per Barth of Sweden and Danny Poulter, brother of Ryder Cup hero Ian, carded matching 71s while England’s Zane Scotland, an 11-time winner, settled for 73 along with compatriot Luke Joy.
The UAE’s Ahmed Skaik led the challenge in the MENA Division for amateurs, returning a fine 73 to sit one ahead of Khaled Attieh and two off his fellow Saudi Arabian, Saud Al Sharif.
