Jumeirah Golf Estates clubmates (L to R) Toby Bishop, Josh Hill and Arjun Gupta during Wednesday’s second round at AESGC. Photo courtesy AESGC/Faldo Series. 

By Kent Gray
Al Ain might be the home of the Faldo Series’ Middle East Championship but you can bet there will be a gaggle of proud Jumeirah Golf Estates members following Thursday’s final round action 150km away in Dubai, not to mention three very interested Butch Harmon School of Golf instructors in nearby Dubai Sports City.

That’s because JGE clubmates Josh Hill, Arjun Gupta and Toby Bishop are locked in a fascinating battle for not only the U-16 title but the overall crown at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club in the first event of the 22nd season of Sir Nick Faldo’s global junior series.

A day after shooting 69 on his 14th birthday, +3 handicapper Hill signed for a best of the week 65 Wednesday to move to -6 for the championship. The Englishman will take a two-stroke advantage into the final round over Bishop (Wales) and Gupta (India) who fired 66s in the second round of the 54-hole event.

Hill plays one of his 65 strokes at AESGC in the second round.

Denmark’s Mikkel Mathieson, the overnight co-leader with Hill, is fourth on even par after a one-over 71 but leads the U-18 division by four strokes over Italian Sasha Sparacino.

Hill’s prowess has come to the fore in recent weeks after his Emirates Golf Federation Open men’s heroics at Trump International Golf Club Dubai and a runner-up finish at the Faldo Series Asian Grand Final in Vietnam.

Related: Josh Hill, just 13, fires Trump course record en-route to third successive EGF title

Gupta, playing off a +1 handicap, is another rising star. In fact, he was part of the “Constellation Clinic” during January’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic where he received a lesson (and a shiny new set of TaylorMade clubs) from Rory McIlroy and rubbed shoulders with boy band golfer Niall Horan and golf’s social media queen Paige Spiranac.

Related: 7 takeaways from the Desert Swing

Getty Images
Rory McIlroy watches Gupta during the Constellation Clinic.

Gupta is coached by Justin Parsons. The Butch Harmon School of Golf Director of Golf, currently in Texas working with PGA Tour rookie Peter Uihlein at the Houston Open, speaks highly of the young Indian lad, indeed all three front-runners; Bishop (+ 0.9 handicap) and Hill are coached by Parson’s BHSG Dubai colleagues Jamie McConnell and Joe Marshall respectively.

“We’ve worked with young Arjan at the golf school for three or four years now, an incredibly talented young player,” said Parsons.

Arjun Gupta’s sister Natalii is in contention in the under-16 girls division. Some family!

“He works at the golf school most days. I’ve been personally working with him coming up two years now and he shows an awful lot of promise and potential. We’ve got a great crop there with obviously Josh Hill, Spencer Goodin and young Toby Bishop. There’s Krishiv Tekchandani too who is one of the lads in our high school programme. We’re excited about all those young lads.”

Toby Bishop

Elsewhere, a second round 73 sees India’s Arkesh Bhatia lead the U-21 men’s division with a +7 aggregate, three shots clear of UAE national team player Abdullah Al Qubaisi who slipped with a Wednesday 76.

A single shot separates England’s Billie-Jo Smit (74-73) and Kenyan Kellie Gachaga (74-74) in the U-21 girls championship while South Korean Hyeonji Kang (73-73) takes a three shot buffer into the final round of the U-16 girls division over Natalii Gupta (76-74), Arjun’s sister.