By Kent Gray
The MENA Tour’s bid to become the “best little mini-tour in the world” is gathering momentum with invites to European and Asian Tour events confirmed along with an exciting prelude to the new-look spring schedule at the soon-to-be-opened Dubai Hills Golf Club.

After what will be a near 16-month hiatus, the remodelled 10-tournament regional development circuit will be re-launched at Ayla Golf Club in Jordan from February 9-11.

But there are three key dates before the US$100,000 season opener which fronts a five-tournament spring swing in Jordan, Kuwait and Dubai (the five remaining events in an Oct.-Nov. autumn window will be announced along with the tour’s first naming rights sponsor and a major co-sanctioning agreement soon).

Key among the three pre-season events is a 36-hole qualifier in January from which the top three players will go on to contest the 30th Omega Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club from Jan. 24-27.

The ‘2019 Omega Dubai Desert Classic Shootout’, to be held at Dubai Hills on Jan. 20-21, is a coup in that will not only assist in rekindling stalled public interest in the MENA Tour but ensures the tour’s membership more than the clichéd “stairway to stardom” peddled in the new season PR. In another nod to regional development, the top-10 players on the second tier UAE PGA Tour will be invited to play the shootout alongside the top-60 players exempted from the 2017 MENA Tour order of merit (OOM) and the first 50 players who signed up for January’s Q-School.

Related: WIN a four-ball at Dubai Hills Golf Club!

There will also be an invite to the European Tour’s Maybank Championship at Saujana Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur from March 21-24 for the OOM leader after the five spring events. Indeed, the top five players on the money list at the halfway stage of the 2019 MENA Tour season will be rewarded; the second placed player will tee it up in the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco from April 25-29, the third-placed player earns automatic entry into the new Jordan Mixed Open at Ayla G.C. from April 4-6 while the fourth and fifth players will be headed to the Asian Tour’s Indonesian Masters from July 4-7.

Increased prize funds for every event, on-going Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status, perfect weather and the prime conditioning of courses on the schedule has ensured there has been no drop-off in interest from budding touring pros despite the season-long hiatus.

So much so, an oversubscribed entry list for Q-School has prompted organisers to arrange two separate qualifiers at Ayla immediately proceeding the 2019 season bow at the same club – from Jan. 29-Feb. 1 (category A) and Feb. 2-5 (category B) – to accommodate the overflowing, global entry list.

After Q-School, the tour will bounce around the region for five events in a month – at Ayla G.C. (Feb. 9-11), Al Zorah G.C. in Ajman (Feb. 19-21), Dubai (course TBC; Feb. 26-28), Sahara Kuwait Resort (March 3-7) and Dubai (course TBC; March 12-14).

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Henric Sturehed won the last MENA Tour event, the tour championship at Al Zorah, in October 2017. The Swede and since gone on to contend on the European Tour.

The minimum prize fund on offer each week will be $75,000, an increase of 50 per cent from previous $50,000, with at least three tournaments to boast $100,000 purses.

“We have listened to our members on various issues and used this hiatus of one year to ensure that we not only have a strong, financially viable Tour with streamlined operation and logistics, but also one that makes it easier for our members to participate and excel,” said new MENA Tour general manager Robbie Williams.

“The Qualifying School at Ayla Golf Club is our first step in a new journey, one which is going to be very exciting for the players and the industry in the region. The response so far has been fantastic. Even before we announced any dates, we have had over 600 registered interests by golfers from across the globe about our plans for 2019 and beyond.”

The MENA Tour’s new 2019 logo.

Established in 2011 by the Sheikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, the MENA Tour is one of 20 global Tours recognised by the OWGR. It global recognition makes it a genuine pathway for players in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond to events like the Olympic Games and other major championships.

Rayhan Thomas, who became a poster-boy for the MENA Tour when he won the 2017 Dubai Creek Open and last weekend secured his second professional title as an amateur, has committed to playing much of the spring schedule before taking up a scholarship at Rickie Fowler’s alma mater, Oklahoma State University.

For more information on Q-School, the ‘2019 Omega Dubai Desert Classic Shootout’ and new-look spring schedule, visit menatour.golf