AR
By Kent Gray
After a heartbreaking end to last season and a sickly start to this one, sometimes European Tour professional Henric Sturehed is due a bit of luck. Don’t be surprised if it arrives in Ajman this week.
The 28-year-old Swede returns to the scene of his historic MENA Tour Championship win in October 2017 for the second event of the new season, the Troon Series-Al Zorah Open, starting today.
The Linkoping lad was unstoppable at the Nicklaus Design 16 months ago, negotiating the par-72 course with a 21-under-par aggregate to win the last MENA Tour season decider by nine strokes from England’s Jake Shepherd.
That was a tour record for the largest winning margin in a 72-hole event and included a course-record 63 in the second round.
Sturehed is hoping to cash in again at the happy hunting ground after opening the new MENA Tour by Arena season with a stunning 66 at Ayla Golf Club last week, only to be struck down by a suspected bout of food poisoning and fade to a share of 46th place after rounds of 78 and 73.
It was another cruel blow for Sturehed who finished 153rd in last season’s Race to Dubai with €175,117 from 21 starts and then agonisingly missed his card this year by just one shot at European Tour Q-School.
He hopes the return to Al Zorah for this week’s 54-hole championship will spark a recovery.
“I have very good memories of this place from the Tour final. I played very well that week and am hoping I can do something similar this week,” said the world No. 639.
“What I clearly remember is that I kept it very simple back then. I found most of the fairways and my putter was hot throughout the four days. That is something you need to do on most courses to win and that is what I want to do this week again.”
Sturehed will also need to overcome some quality names in the field of 120 including Dubai-based amateur Rayhan Thomas and Englishman Matthew Baldwin who won last week’s Journey To Jordan-1 in Aqaba by a record eight shots for a 54-hole tournament.
