By Kent Gray
Daniel Gaunt was so disheartened with his golf game and the financial toll it was taking on his family 18 months ago that he decided to down sticks and go to work on the tools at his home club in England.

“My head was not in a right place and I felt I was just throwing away money when I had to take care of my four lovely kids and my mortgage,” the Surrey-based Australian said of his decision to quit the touring life in mid-2017 despite having previously captured two European Challenge Tour titles.

Gaunt duly found work on the maintenance team at his home Burhill Golf Club in Walton-on-Thames and the change of scenery slowly helped rekindle his love of the game.

He still needed prompting to give pro golf another go and has a shot Wednesday at the MENA Tour’s $75,000 Troon Series-Al Zorah Open to give his closest supporters the ultimate payback.

A six-under-par 66 in Tuesday’s second round will see the Aussie go into today’s final round tied for the lead at -10, 134 with Scot Craig Ross. They are two shots clear of rookie English professional Todd Clements and former MENA Tour winner MG Keyser.

“There are friends, including [MENA Tour life member] Zane Scotland and a few others – they know who they are and I am indebted for their support – who believed in me and helped me financially to play golf again this year.

“So here we are…I am happy to be in the position I am in. I will go out and do exactly what I did the first two days. Come the last nine holes and we will see if I am in contention. I have full faith in myself. I have won before and I can do it again. I won’t be here if I did not believe I can win.”

Ross, who added a 66 to his opening-round 68 as well, went bogey-free on Tuesday and will look to add to the Clippers Logistics Championship he won on the EuroPro Tour last year.

India’s Dubai-based Rayhan Thomas birdied his final two holes and was the leading amateur following a two-under-par 70 round that took him to five-under par 139. The 19-year-old was three ahead of England’s Curtis Knipes (70), the amateur champion at Journey To Jordan-1, the inaugural event of the 2019 season.

Another Dubai-based teenager, the 14-year-old Josh Hill (72), was the next best on the amateur leaderboard at one-under par 143.

Thomas was solid for the first 11 holes with two birdies before a wobble cost him shots on the 12th and 14th holes. But a miraculous par on the 16th lifted his spirits and he birdied the last two return to the clubhouse a satisfied man.

“My ball was completely plugged on the 16th hole in the greenside bunker and I left myself a 12-footer for par after hacking it out somehow. Luckily, I made that putt and then stiffed it to two feet on the par-3 17th and got a regulation birdie on the par-5 18th,” said Thomas, who created history on the MENA Tour when he became the first amateur to win a title (2016 Dubai Creek Open).

“It was a good round, but like any golfer, I thought I could have shot a couple better. The conditions were perfect today and I should have taken advantage of it.”

Tuesday’s cut fell at one-over 145 with 50 professionals and 10 amateurs making it to the final round.

LEADING SCORES (After Round 2, par-72)
134 – Daniel Gaunt (AUS) 68-66, Craig Ross (SCO) 68-66
136 – Todd Clements (ENG) 71-65, MG Keyser (RSA) 70-66
137 – Seve Benson (ENG) 69-68, Jack McDonald (SCO) 70-67
138 – Benjamin David (ENG) 69-69
139 – Rayhan Thomas (IND-Am) 69-70, Lionel Weber (FRA) 68-71, Max Smith (ENG) 68-71, Tom Shadbolt (ENG) 70-69
140 – Antoine Schwartz (FRA) 70-70, Dominic Foos (GER) 69-71, Jack Doherty (SCO) 72-68, Joshua White (ENG) 72-68, Andrew Burmester (RSA) 70-70
141 – Daniel Hendry (SCO) 71-70, Rigel Fernandes (IND) 70-71, Oliver Jacobsson (SWE) 69-72, Robert Dinwiddie (ENG) 71-70
142 – Robin Roussel (FRA) 73-69, Harry Konig (ENG) 72-70, Robbie Busher (ENG) 72-70, Ahmad Baig (PAK) 69-73, Conor O’Neil (SCO) 72-70, Erik Jonasson (SWE) 70-72, Constantin Schwierz (GER) 71-71
143 – Gustaf Kocken (SWE) 72-71, James Allan (ENG) 71-72, Taylor Carter (ENG) 70-73, Maarten Bosch (NED) 74-69, Josh Hill (ENG-Am) 71-72