The Rayhaan Thomas juggernaut refuses to stop. After winning two of the oldest club championships in the region – that at his home club of Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club and at Emirates Golf Club, the 16-year-old has added the prestigious Audi Dubai Creek Men’s Back to Black Open trophy to his already overflowing cabinet.
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Played from the black tees, which makes the course play to its full yardage, it is one of the most popular events on the Dubai Creek schedule and attracts some of the finest amateur players in the region.
This year was no different as a field of over 80 players took the unique challenges of the Thomas Bjorn re-designed golf course. And Dubai Creek course did its bit to make the challenge even tougher, with demanding pin positions on most holes contributing to the added length and windy conditions.
15-year-old Rayhan Thomas the one to watch after @DubaiCreekGolf win http://t.co/Ez6JJiYf8D pic.twitter.com/dzyKwdgIjs
— Sport360° (@Sport_360) March 4, 2015
It was young Rayhaan grabbing the headlines once again as he continued his fine form and produced a superb three-over par 74. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park for Rayhaan as he faced competition from Dubai Creek veteran John Fellingham, who matched the low round of the day with a 74 of his own.
After the pair finished tied, the winner was decided on a card countback, and even that went down to the wire. Both players were home in 37, but Rayhaan finally became eligible for the trophy when his score on last three holes were adjudged better than his rival’s.
Rayhaan said: “I would like to thank Audi for their support again this year, along with the Dubai Creek staff for all of their efforts in putting together another great event. The course was in great condition and a pleasure to play.”
Although narrowly missing out on the top spot, Fellingham finished one spot better than he did in this event last year. A new member of Dubai Creek, Gary Swan picked up his first podium finish since joining the club as he claimed the third place prize with a solid five over par 76.
Along with the main gross prizes, there were also net prizes to be won. And it was young Arjun Gupta who produced arguably the afternoon’s finest performance to claim top honours in the net category with a superb three-under par net 68.
That was four shots better than second-placed Mohammed Omer Safi, who finished with a net score of one-over par 72. Andy Odell finished one shot back to claim third place with a 73.
In the spot prizes, Jay Varkey picked up the longest drive award on the fourth hole. Gaurav Verma was the day’s other long drive winner for his tee shot on the par-4 12th hole. Chris Alderman and Shahin Khodjasteh claimed the nearest to the pin prizes on holes eight and 16.
