Sunday 19 / May / 2024
Muscat: With the Order of Merit race wide open, the MENA Golf Tour reaches a thrilling climax this week at the Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club where an exclusive field will line-up for the Tour Championship.
The season finale, starting on Sunday, features top 50 professionals and 10 leading amateurs from their respective Orders of Merit who have played a minimum of six of the 15 events in the sixth edition of the tour.
With just $5,239 separating the top three, the Order of Merit race has intensified as all of them are in with a realistic chance of winning the coveted MENA Tour champion title, thanks to a larger than usual prize fund of $100,000 with the winner taking home a cheque for $18,000.
England’s Craig Hinton, a two-time winner on the tour season, currently leads the Order of Merit title with $33,359 in earnings, but only just as snapping on his heels are his fellow Englishmen Zane Scotland ($32,491) and Andrew Marshall ($28,120), both old hands when it comes to winning big.
The race for the leading amateur is all but decided with India’s Rayhan Thomas, who became the first amateur to win a MENA Golf Tour event this season, enjoying an unbeatable lead over his nearest challengers.
Fresh off competing in the first European Challenge Tour event in Ras Al Khaimah, the 16-year-old Dubai-based prodigy, who is supported by the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, has 297 points to his credit with Matias Calderon of Chile (193) trailing in a distant second.
Morocco’s Ahmed Marjan, who racked up a creditable second at last week’s Ghala Open, has made things interesting in the MENA Division, taking a healthy lead over his fellow countryman Younes El Hassani in the MENA Division for professionals while the Saudi duo Othman Almulla and KhaledAttieh are locked in a nip-and-tuck race to top the MENA Division for amateurs.
The introduction of the qualifying school, the South African safari co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Big Easy Tour, and eleven first-time winners highlighted this season’s 15-stop MENA Golf Tour that first hit the road in March earlier this year, logging thousands of miles across Spain, Morocco, Thailand, UAE, Kuwait and Oman.
Multiple European Tour starts, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Hassan II Trophy and the Maybank Championship Malaysia, in addition to full playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour and exemptions into the Final Stage of the Asian Tour Q-School for the leading three professionals are some of the added incentives that await the leading MENA Golf Tour stars.
Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour, thanked all clubs and players for continued support to the tour. “They all have been wonderful partners in our journey as we strive to stimulate the overall development of the game in the region and beyond.
“I am also grateful to the Arab Golf Federation and the regional golf associations in the region who have been our pillar of strength.
“The fact that most of the events this season threw up first-time winners in addition to producing improved scores is a reflection on the growing strength of the tour. I wish all players competing in the Tour Championship the very best.”
Order of Merit standings ahead of the Tour Championship:
1. Craig Hinton (England) $33,359
2. Zane Scotland (England) $32,491
3. Andrew Marshall (England) $28,120
4. Luke Joy (England) $23,269
5. Antonio Costa (Chile) $20,696
6. Fredrik Lindblom (Sweden) $14,686
7. Aaron Leitmannstetter (Germany) $14,071
8. Joe Heraty (England) $15,282
9. Lee Corfield (England) $13,646
10. Carlos Balmaseda (Spain) $10,960
Amateurs:
1. Rayhan Thomas (India) 297 points
2. Matias Calderon 193
3. Benjamin David (England) 183
4. Edward Holland (England) 165
5. Othman Almulla (Saudi Arabia) 157
