Chris White, Ayla Golf Club’s Director of Operations with MENA Tour patron Darren Clarke.

By Kent Gray
Jordan’s first 18-hole all-grass course was designed by two-time Open champion Greg Norman and will have another holder of the Claret Jug on hand when it hosts its first professional tournament this week.

Darren Clarke, the 2011 Open champion at Royal St. George’s, will tee it up in ‘Jordan’s Ayla Golf Championship’ from Thursday. It will be the 49-year-old Ulsterman’s third start in the last four MENA Tour events and is a boon for the new $50,000, 54-hole event in Aqaba.

“It’s great to see a player of the stature of Darren lend his celebrity status to the event, which I am sure will be a memorable affair. We are really grateful to him for his support,” said Ayla Director of Operations, Chris White, who joined the club from Yas Links in Abu Dhabi.

“We are delighted to be part of the Mena Tour as we feel the championship will be a great catalyst for the overall growth and development of the sport in the country.”

Clarke is counting down to joining the Champions Tour in the U.S. after his 50th birthday next August and is using the MENA Tour to keep his game sharp as well as promoting the Pro-Am circuit’s merits as official patron.

With 13 European and two WGC titles and a 10-7-3 (W-L-H) Ryder Cup record as a player, Clarke won’t be happy with his T-26 finish at last week’s Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open after a level par effort following rounds of 70-73-73. It followed a -2, T-16 performance at the Dubai Creek Open earlier in September after scores of 68-69-74.

As competitive as ever, Clarke is desperate for a MENA Tour victory which would eclipse his best finish on tour thus far, a T-2 on debut at the 2015 Ras Al Khaimah Classic.

Aside from Clarke’s performance, the focus in Jordan will be on the Order-of-Merit race. Jamie Elson is back on top after his third place finish in Abu Dhabi but the Englishman has yet to win a MENA Tour event and is just 4432 points ahead of the Swede Fredrik From.

Luke Joy, fifth overall but reeling after missing the cut at Yas Links, also needs a big week with just Jordan and the Oct.16-18 Sahara Kuwait Golf Championship left before the season-ending Tour Championship at Al Zorah from Oct. 23-26.

Perhaps the biggest star of all this week will be the course itself. Since its soft opening in October 2016, Ayla GC’s commitment to environmentally-friendly design has garnered wide recognition courtesy of solar-powered floodlights and eco-friendly paspalum grass that is fed using water from 19 wells. It certainly looks stunning as these tweets from the MENA Tour and Swedish pro Fredrik Lindblom show:

With scenic Red Sea views and a meandering wet wadi that comes into play on 11 holes, Ayla is considered one of Norman’s top three most sustainable designs.

“For us to be considered as a venue capable of hosting our first professional golf tournament within our first year of operation is both testament to the quality of the product as well as our collective team’s desire to showcase Ayla, Aqaba and, indeed Jordan, to a global audience,” said Sahl Dudin, Managing Director of Ayla.

“Aqaba seeks to improve its tourism assets, so that we can make the stay of visiting tourists longer. So it is not only the ‘sun and sand’: it is the ‘Golden Triangle’, which is Wadi Rum and Petra, and more attractions in Aqaba, which is diving, and now golf.”

In addition to the 18-hole championship course, Ayla GC offers a teaching academy, a 9-hole par-3 course and driving range.