Following a solid start to the ‘Gulf Swing’ of the MENA Golf Tour, defending champion Luke Joy returns to Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, confident of retaining his Ascorp Abu Dhabi Golf Citizen Open title.
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The Englishman finished tied for seventh place at last week’s Dubai Creek Open, and sounded confident of going the full distance this time around.
“Overall, I made a positive start to my time in the Middle East. I need to work on my short game a little as I feel I left a lot of shots out there around the greens,” said Joy, who will be joined by 10 former winners on the tour, including perennial contenders Zane Scotland and Joshua White, both of England.
The strong field comprises a record 127 players, including 26 amateurs.
The Dorset-based Joy has his work cut with the likes of compatriot Lee Corfield, a three-time winner, and in-form Jake Shepherd joining the fray along with Austria’s Florian Praegant, who will want to get over the heart-break of making a last-hole bogey in the final round of the Dubai Creek Open, when a par would have won him the title on his MENA Tour debut.
Having knocked a bit of rust off their game at the Dubai Creek Open, Miles Tunnicliff and Malcolm Mackenzie, both former European Tour winners from England, will also be hoping to get their ‘A’ game going, along with Asian Tour veteran Yasin Ali.
Young Rayhan Thomas, who narrowly missed out on a historic feat of becoming the first amateur to win a MENA Tour event last week, will remain a potent threat given his recent run of form.
Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Tour, said: “We have again assembled a very strong field and that’s a good reflection on the growing strength of the tour.
“The fact that the first three events on the tour this season has produced a new winner shows the increasing depth of talent.
“As we plan to further expand next season, we need corporate houses to come forward and support the tour, which is aimed at the overall development of golf in the region.
“I am grateful to Khalfan Al Kaabi, chairman of Ascorp, for backing the tournament. Being a golfer himself, Khalfan knows what it takes to string together an event of this stature. We value his support.”
Meanwhile, Scott McCaw, Director of Club Operations at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, said: “We look forward to welcoming back the MENA Golf Tour party. The course has been set up nicely to provide a fair all-round test for the players.”
