Majlis Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

With McIlroy and Ryder Cup friends lurking, Justin Harding won’t rest easy on his Dubai lead

Kent Gray — Sat, 29 Jan 2022 18:54:01 +0000

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By Kent Gray
Justin Harding plodded patiently on moving day at the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic while all around him superstars were spluttering along. Those who weren’t inexplicably slamming their title hopes into reverse that was.

On a day when a perfect storm of tough pins and the Majlis’ freshly renovated and increasingly firm greens saw Shane Lowry’s 68 somehow emerge as the lowest score, Harding ground out a relatively stress-free 71.

It saw the 35-year-old South African start and end a dramatic Saturday at Emirates Golf Club with a two-stroke lead.

After a topsy-turvy 69, Rory McIlroy is ominously Harding’s closest pursuer heading into Sunday and perhaps now favoured to join Ernie Els’ as a three-time winner of the Dallah trophy.

Then again, Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Erik Van Rooyen (71) are just three back and among the few to survive the third round without too much mental scarring. Defending champion Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton are among a group in the mix at eight-under although both suffered third round setbacks.

Hatton was among those to go backwards spectacularly. He got it to 12-under for solo possession of the lead by the 5th and with four Rolex Series gold stars already, looked the man to beat. But his five-star Saturday turned turtle with four dropped shots in a miserable four hole stretch from the 12th.

The Englishman frustratingly parred in from there but at least he didn’t bleed late oil like Lee Westwood. So close so many times on the Majlis, the 48-year-old was just two shots out of the lead when he reached the 18th. But after driving left, barely escaping the hardpan, laying up in the hay, fluffing it in the water, wedging again and two putting, he signed for a snowman eight in the desert. Westwood will start Sunday at seven-under. And thoroughly deflated.

If Westwood can draw any inspiration, it will be from the fact he’s in the fourth from last group out with Padraig Harrington and Hatton, a dangerous position from which to set a tough clubhouse target. Fleetwood, winless since the Nov. 2019 Nedbank Golf Challenge, will tee it up in the final three-ball alongside Harding and McIlroy with visions of a Dallah to go with his two Abu Dhabi Falcons.

Harding can become Dubai’s third South African champion after the late Wayne Westner and Els. It would be a first gold star, as it would be for McIlroy whose European résumé strangely includes a Rolex Series asterisk. With all those par 5s and his brilliant iron play from Saturday to draw on, McIlroy will take some beating. Mind you, Harding has already shown slow and steady might just win this race.

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Back to the Future: The five-month rebuild of the Majlis greens is set to test your lag putting

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 07:01:58 +0000

Photographs courtesy of Emirates Golf Club

By Kent Gray
Emirates Golf Club has gone right back to the beginning to secure the future of the most recognisable greens in the Middle East.

Members began putting the Majlis’ fully renovated greens on September 30 with October 17 slated as the day that the green fee paying public can experience the new surfaces for the first time.

All 18 greens and the practice surface beneath the club’s iconic Majlis clubhouse have been fully renovated to USGA specification. They’ve all been brought back as close as possible to the original shape and size specified by designer Karl Litten when the region’s first grass course was built in 1988. That means members and visitors will have their lag putting tested with the greens increasing in size by an average of 40 percent.

The Majlis bunkers previously didn’t have built-in drainage, impacting playability throughout the day as greens were irrigated and water filtered into the sand. Every greenside bunker was renovated alongside the greens overhaul, a process impressively achieved in-house in just two weeks.

Originally built as ‘push up’ greens and subject to the region’s high-stress climatic conditions, the greens had come to the end of their natural 20-25 year lifespan.

Aptly-named American Terry Baller, who has significant global experience with many top design companies, was brought in as design consultant and Tifeagle Bermuda grasses flown into the UAE in refrigerated containers from Atlas Turf in Georgia in the U.S.

Dubai Golf took advantage of the five-month course closure/rebuild to add drainage to each of the Majlis’ greenside bunkers and level out teeing grounds. A major tree trimming programme was also undertaken, bringing much needed light and air circulation to areas where grass growth has proven problematic.

“The team have done a tremendous job under the guidance of [superintendent] Matthew Perry to return the Majlis to the condition and standards expected of such an important course,” said Dubai Golf CEO Chris May.

“On bringing the greens back to the sub base by removing 60- 70cm of the previous greens, the original shape size and contours of the Karl Litten design was evident, so members and guests playing the Majlis will notice very subtle changes in movement and slope on the greens as they have been returned to their original design.”

The upgrade was timed to allow nearly four months of bed-in time before Emirates G.C. hosts the 33rd Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, itself enhanced to $8 million Rolex Series status in 2022.

Perry is confident of a smooth return for the European Tour’s finest after last year’s Desert Classic, won by Ryder Cupper Paul Casey, was decided on highly stressed surfaces sadly showing their age to global TV audiences.

“The thing to expect over the coming months is that the greens will get quite hard as we want them to develop and build organic matter,” Perry told members in a recent edition of Club Life, Emirates G.C.s newsletter. “We won’t be needle tining as it will loosen the surface too much. The ball roll will be good. There may be the odd jump here and there, which would simply be down to some areas of the greens that is still settling.

“It is very important to make sure we repair pitch marks as it is young grass [which] needs to be given a good amount of time to recover… not fixing these pitch marks straight away will prevent that.”

1. The 11th green on the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club highlights the rapid progress of the renovation. 2. The 1st green in similar before and after photos. 3. All the tee complexes were flattered, including the picturesque 7th, one of the best par 3s in the region. 4. The 5th green comes at you after one of the Majlis’ trickiest drive-approach combos.

Baller is likewise pleased with the outcome of the renovation.

“Due to the nature of construction and corresponding disturbance to each green complex, we wanted to maximise enhancement opportunities that maintained the original design intent and strategy,” said the American.

“We were able to identify green surfaces that can benefit from enlargement while simultaneously enhancing bunker/green surface relationships, reducing severely sloped areas to promote playability and increase pinnable areas, and improving the overall drainage of green surfaces and areas surrounding the green perimeter by tying into the existing grade more suitably.”

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Late eagle leaves Garcia clinging to Dallah double dream

Golf Digest Middle East — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 19:54:28 +0000

Getty Images

By Joy Chakravarty
Sergio Garcia’s love of drivable par-4s deepened late on Saturday at the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic.

An eagle on the Majlis’ always pivotal 359-yard, par-4 17th hole could yet prove critical if he is to kick on to a second Dallah trophy.

The Spaniard, champion here in 2017 before going on to win the Masters that year, managed to narrow the gap with eventual leader Paul Casey to five shots with the eagle when he holed an exquisite flop wedge shot from 15 yards after smashing his drive into the left rough.

That helped him finish on five-under par 67 for the day and 10-under par after the third round, tying him for fourth place.

“I love hitting my driver on that hole. I hit a lovely one today, but just turned it a bit. I was left with a very tricky chip and the only thing that was helping me was that I was hitting it straight into the wind,” said the world No.45.

“I hit a flop and hoped it would land on the fringe and leave me no more than a six-seven feet putt for birdie. But it just took a couple of hops and went straight in. It was a bit of a bonus, really.

“I always love short par-4s. I think they all have lots of personality and the 17th here is no different. You can play them in so many different ways – you can be super aggressive and go for the green, or you can be conservative and lay up to the yardage you feel comfortable. These are holes that make you think a little bit and that’s what we want in the game.”

Garcia said it was not his best ball-striking day, but he managed to limit the damage to just one bogey.

“There was a little bit of everything, I guess. I hit some good iron shots. I didn’t feel like I drove it badly, but it was a little bit windier, a little bit trickier. Wasn’t able to hit as many fairways. But obviously a couple of good birdies on the back nine and then obviously the chip-in on 17. Yeah… happy with the score, but there’s some things that we need to improve.”

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Tired on Thursday, terrific on Friday, Tyrrell Hatton is right back in the Desert Classic

Kent Gray — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 19:15:47 +0000

Getty Images

By Kent Gray
For most, golf’s clichéd ‘moving day’ is reserved for Saturdays. Tyrrell Hatton clearly couldn’t wait that long.

After an opening 76, the Englishman was in serious danger of missing the cut at the 32nd OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic in what would have been a sobering hangover from his heroics in Abu Dhabi last week.

But with the help of an afternoon nap after Thursday morning’s disappointment and a good 7½ hours overnight to further top up his understandably flat batteries, the new world No.5 brought that other oft-used golf cliché into play on the Majlis Friday.

Indeed, what a difference a day – and a little overnight sleep – can make. Sparked by an opening birdie and a chip-in eagle on the par-5 3rd, Hatton produced a brilliant 64 to roar from 115th place starting the second round to a share of 23rd, just six strokes shy of leader Thomas Detry, by the end of Friday.

There were chip-ins from rough and hole-outs from the sand, unlikely putts holed from off the green and relative tiddlers missed with a scowl or a scoff depending on Hatton’s ever-changing and always expressive mood. The Englishman would be a terrible poker play but that’s okay because he’s quite good at golf, arguably the best on the planet right now.

At eight-under for his round through 13 holes, Hatton even eyed Ernie Els’ course record 61, an 11-under loop in the first round of the three-time champion’s maiden Dallah triumph in 1994. A plugged waste area lie found off the 14th tee put pay to that but Hatton quickly rebounded from a second bogey with a birdie on the 16th that drew a glowing assessment from Ewen Murray up in the TV booth. “It is such a great privilege to watch a top player playing as well as this.” When Hatton knocked his pitch from the rough on the short par-4 17th close, Murray was at it again. “This is some player the European Tour has unearthed here,” Murray said. It mattered not that Hatton missed the putt, nor that he also had to settle for par on the 18th. He’d already done more than enough to get back into the conversation,

“Yeah, it was nice to be 8-under through 13, got quite fortunate with especially the birdie on 13. Just a bit of a bonus that one going in,” Hatton said of his putt from the fringe via a fluffed chip from the rough on the par-5.

“And then 14 was pretty tough to take. It was a poor tee shot. You don’t kind of expect to be plugged with a 3-wood but it is what it is, and a little bit disappointed I didn’t birdie 17 or 18, but I can’t really complain with 64.

RELATED: Hatton hums as Detry eases to bogey-free OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic lead

“Yeah, looking back I’m pretty happy with that round of golf to be honest. Going out today the goal was to try to make the cut after yesterday’s disappointing start. So I’m really happy that I’m going to be here for the weekend. Hoping that I can push on now and see where we go.”

It will be some feat if he can come back from an opening 76 to win although it’s not as if that sort of epic comeback would be unprecedented. Finn Sami Välimäki is the last player to win after being T-100th or worse following the opening round, as recently as last year’s Oman Open en-route to Sir Henry Cotton Rookie-of-Year honours.

“I think tomorrow is probably going to be an advantage going out a little earlier. The greens will be smoother. Having said that, I holed quite a few putts today,” Hatton said before reliving his Friday adventures on the greens.

“To be honest I think it’s one of those days where you’re better off putting from 15, 20 feet rather than being in amongst the five, six feet range and closer, because at least then you can kind of give it a little bit of a roll and it’s got some momentum.”

Momentum. There’s another fitting golf cliché. Roll on moving day indeed.

READ MORE:
OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic ‘Daily News’ preview edition
OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic ‘Daily News’ round 1 edition

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Caddie Confidential: We go inside the ropes with Andy Sullivan’s looper Tom Ridley

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 12:26:03 +0000

Andy tweeted “Not quite on it this week but lots of positives moving forward” after his T-25 in Abu Dhabi. Give us your reflections from the season opener?
Very rusty. Obviously, it is hard to stay at home for a month over Christmas hitting it into a mat. He likes to enjoy himself as well so we will let him off. It is difficult to get straight back into the form he was in at the end of last year but it’s good that he managed to shake off a lot of rust off towards the weekend especially. We saw a bit of the game we saw at the backend of last month so we are excited for the next few weeks.

What do you do in the days between events? A day off or all work and no play?
It used to be very much a day off and a bit of relaxing but Andy turned into Andrew recently and he is working hard, he is at the gym, not so much at the golf course. He is trying to shift a few Christmas pounds, still got a long way to go though…

How’s the boss feeling heading in the ODDC?
He is feeling great. He’s always wanted to win this golf tournament, he has come close a couple of times and he loves the course.

And the Majlis, how’s it playing?
It is playing pretty long actually, a couple of new tees, the rough’s pretty juicy in a few spots and the rough around the green is quite big so I would say getting the ball on the fairway mostly and then the second shots are the big part of how well you’ll do this week. The greens are still rolling nicely so I’d say it’s more the second shots this week.

Let’s rewind to the caddie crossover piece you did with GolfTV last week, recording a six on the 9th at Abu Dhabi. Not the worst score on that tricky par-4 but did your caddie, Andy Sullivan, perform up to expectation?
We have an old saying: You are only as good as your player and I was awful so you can work out the rest!

A new appreciation for the pressure the guy you normally hand the clubs to is under then?
I was extremely nervous mainly because I haven’t hit a shot in six months and the last time I did, it was not very good. So maybe a warm-up would have made me have slightly less nervous. The appreciation comes when there are about 5000 people on the tee box and around the green but don’t tell him that.

Do you still play?
My home club was Wentworth but I haven’t been a member there for 14 years now. I think I got down to one at Wentworth itself and then went to a slightly easier club to get to scratch because I couldn’t get around a Wentworth. It’s a bit too hard!

Sully’s 53rd in the OWGR, close to the tipping point. What the goals for 2021?
When we get to the top 50 it opens a lot more doors, especially over in America. As for goals we just want to keep doing what we are doing, focus on the process and the results will come by themselves.

Sum up 2020, the win at the English Championship, T-3 at the BMW PGA, T-2 at the Golf in Dubai Championship and plenty of other top results besides. 12th in the Race to Dubai…getting back to where Sully belongs?
I think 2020 was a learning experience for all of us, especially Sully. The lockdown did him a world of good, he really knuckled down, came out on tour hungrier for the game again. Stopped all the mucking around, got his head down and focused, he matured as well. He came back after a long, long break and he was ready to go and he showed it; getting 4th on the first week and winning after week three, it was very nice getting the win out of the mind. The only thing Sully wanted to do after a five-year wait was to win. You try and take the focus off winning by just doing what you are doing and it was really nice to get that one out of the way. As soon as he won, that was like weigh off the shoulders and more good results came. It was a great year and I am very much looking forward to this one and getting Sully back to exactly where he belongs.

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Wee Wonders: The Middle East’s best par 3s

Kent Gray — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 04:56:33 +0000

(Photographs courtesy of the clubs)

Few are short but all are sweet examples of world-class golf design. Welcome to the Middle East’s best par 3s

By Kent Gray
With a defence system including (but not limited to) an old railway shed, a grand hotel, heather, a skinny green, a subterranean pot bunker and an equally uncompromising stone wall, the fearsome reputation of the ‘Road Hole’ at St. Andrews is warranted.

If you still need a refresher on why the 17th at the Old Course is the most recognisable hole in golf, search the ‘Sands of Nakajima’ and follow the endless thread. Just don’t say you weren’t forewarned, especially if you are of a nervous disposition in the sand already.

Thankfully you needn’t be a 450-yard par 4 at the Home of Golf to inspire awe.

There’s something about par 3s that trigger the golfing senses. Picture the 12th at Augusta National, the island greened 17th on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass or to the tiny (f)lick that is the ‘Postage Stamp’ at Royal Troon. How about wedging toward the pounding Atlantic Ocean that backdrops the downhill, 106-yard 7th at Pebble Beach?

In the Middle East, we’re blessed with countless examples of how a good little ‘un often beats a good big ’un. That, of course, begged this, the definitive compilation of the region’s finest short holes.

So what’s the criteria to make the cut in our list of treacherous tiddlers? It’s the same exhaustive process that determines the world’s most respected course rating system, seven categories which reward shot values, design variety, resistance to scoring, memorability, aesthetics, conditioning and ambience.

Our Top 10 Courses in the Middle East 2020 judging panel applied the same criteria to each par 3 at all the courses rated. We then tallied the scores and ranked them accordingly to compile our list from 18 to No.1. A couple of clubs feature more than once, other clubs not at all. Some selections will surprise from courses flush with memorable par 3s. It all serves to emphasise the impartiality of the system.

Without further ado, welcome to the Middle East’s best par 3s, wee wonders all. Enjoy.

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18. 16th Royal Greens Golf & Country Club
180 Yards, Stroke Index 16
Hit the ball right to left? Welcome to the warm turquoise waters of the Red Sea my friend, a place where Dustin Johnson’s title hopes momentarily took a dip with his ball in the final round of the inaugural Saudi International in 2019. Bail out right and you may still donate your sphere to Davy Jones’ Locker given how tight the green is cut to the wet stuff. Soak in the views while trying not to think about blading your chip or bunker shot.

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17. 16th Ayla Golf Club, Jordan
210 Yards, Stroke Index 14
The odds are against even low markers on this downhill, normally downwind hole to a green that slopes away to a back left bunker. Back right? Water. A pure strike is required to hold the green with the strong prevailing wind lowering ball spin. Come in too low and the ball will find its way to the back or fall into the sand. Gulp.

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16. 2nd Fire, Jumeirah Golf Estates
250 Yards, Stroke Index 17
You might be sensing a theme emerging by now and it’s not the fact Fire, like Ayla, came from the design board of Greg Norman, nor that the Shark loves a good bunker. What we are trying to say is, ball striking baby, like, you better be ripping your irons today kinda ball striking. You’ll need something stronger if you play from the tips here, something we strongly advise against. It’s easy enough to drop a shot or three without going further back than most of us travel to work nowadays.

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The pyramids are the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and a magnificent distraction at NEWGIZA.

15. 4th NEWGIZA Golf Club
187 Yards, Stroke Index 13
If you like your golf with a hearty dollop of history, put NEWGIZA on your must-play list. The signature hole at the Cairo layout – the last project of Thomson Perrett & Lobb – includes elevated views to the Great Pyramids of Giza. Breath-taking.

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14. 17th The Els Club, Dubai
212 Yards, Stroke Index 15
Trust us, don’t leave it short on this beastly par-3. Don’t go long either come to think of it. Or right. And definitely not left. Gosh no. Any two putt par, one each of which will be a slippery down or side hiller, is cause for celebration. An up and down par? Well played, Seve.

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13. 16th Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club
198 Yards, Stroke Index 17
With views to the Burj Khalifa on the 5th, that big carry over water on the 8th and the equally memorable 14th, you might be surprised by the par 3 that resonated with our judges at DCGYC. But by a fraction, they plumbed for a mid-iron carry over sand to the elevated 16th and a test with the putter. The start of a magical three-hole finish that gives the ‘The Creek’ its name and your card all those big numbers.

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12. 12th Abu Dhabi Golf Club
186 Yards, Stroke Index 16
The green here isn’t tiny but boy, how magnetic is that water short? And that sand left and right. Heck, we’ve even bounced it off the boulders at the back trying to take all the other hazards out of play. Like the 7th on The National, this is another gem from Harradine Design. Which leads us too…

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11. 8th JA The Resort Golf Course
177 Yards, Stroke Index 15
Club selection is critical from the elevated tee where you are treated to lovely views over the resort’s marina and out to the Arabian Sea. With water wrapping around the left side of the green, it’s easy to find sand right and then leave your bunker escape short for fear of a thin into the H2O beyond. A seemingly simple hole where dropped shots are not uncommon.

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10. 17th Al Zorah Golf Club
224 Yards, Stroke Index 8
We’re huge fans of the short 2nd hole at Al Zorah which tests your mettle early with wetness waiting any weak or pulled (pushed for lefties) strike. We also enjoy the short 15th but for design and resistance to scoring, the 17th at the Golden Bear’s Ajman layout takes some beating. Forget par if you are short here, especially if you draw a sticky lie when the tide is out. All carry, all class from Jack Nicklaus Design.

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9. 15th Majlis, Emirates Golf Club
190 Yards, Stroke Index 14
The final par 3 on the Majlis isn’t dissimilar to the 17th at Al Zorah. This is a hole all about hitting and holding the green because anything short or left will leave a tricky desert lie to an elevated green and likely a frustrating blob on your scorecard. Beyond the green? Best left for spectating at the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic.

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8. 17th Dubai Hills Golf Club
203 Yards, Stroke Index 2
Few of the holes in our selection have a single figure stroke index rating. A clear exception to that coincidence is the penultimate hole at Dubai Hills. Good players will look to draw the ball away from the water that hugs the right-hand side of this hole but even low handicappers will be frustrated by a poor strike or an untimely gust at some point. Brutal!

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7. 17th Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
147 Yards, Stroke Index 15
Framed by the white sands and the sparkling waters of the Arabian Gulf, the penultimate hole at Gary Player’s Abu Dhabi masterpiece scored well for aesthetics. It also resonated with our judges for resistance to scoring despite being a mere flick most days. Proof that par 3s needn’t be monsters to be memorable.

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6. 11th Al Mouj Golf
230 Yards, Stroke Index 13
The island-style green on the 5th at Greg Norman’s Muscat gem makes for a memorable par 3 but it can only doff its cap to the 11th where the green seemingly melds into the horizon. Don’t be distracted by those dreamy Sea of Oman vistas…you’re going to need a pure blow to escape with par or better here.

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5. 9th Dubai Hills Golf Club
220 Yards, Stroke Index 3
They clearly like their par 3s tough at Dubai Hills as witnessed by the two entries in our list, including the stroke 2 17th. The 9th is the most picturesque of the memorable collection of par 3s (we like No.2 as well) and, at 220 yards from the tips, is not for the faint of heart. We’d love a dirham for every water ball and two for every bailout right.

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4. 7th Majlis, Emirates Golf Club
186 yards, Stroke Index 15
The second of the memorable collection of par 3s imagined into life by Karl Litten on the Majlis more than 30 years ago wouldn’t be out of place today at one of the UK’s famous old parkland courses. Beware the false front ready to suck your ball back into the lake and don’t be surprised if you face a lengthy first putt. And a knee-knocker for par. Or bogey.

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3. 17th Earth, Jumeirah Golf Estates
195 Yards, Stroke Index 8
It’s the UAE’s answer to the 17th at TPC Sawgrass and like The Players Championship, the penultimate hole on Earth regularly has its say in the outcome of the Race to Dubai decider, often with a incredible escape from one of the bunkers. Club selection can be tricky if the wind is swirling. Par here is never to be sniffed at.

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2. 17th Trump International Golf Club, Dubai
156 Yards, Stroke Index 18
Designer Gil Hanse clearly got the memo on the beauty of short, short holes. It’s easy to be sucked in by any pin cut to the front right of this cleverly sculpted green. Anything short is a bogey-plus in the making and good luck negotiating that shallow wee bunker beyond the green too. The sage option is to aim for the middle of the green and take your chances with the flat stick.

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1. 17th Yas Links Abu Dhabi
204 Yards, Stroke Index 13
The downhill 4th, the nifty 8th, the pretty little uphill 13th. All stunning. But the penultimate hole at Kyle Phillips’ Abu Dhabi masterpiece? In a different league. Any tee-ball other than a green finder leaves a devilishly difficult up and down. A par here will linger in the memory, as will the social media mementoes you snapped with your phone camera from the tee. And looking from beyond the greenback towards the tee. It’s majestic from every angle and in every sense.

The post Wee Wonders: The Middle East’s best par 3s appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Fisher helps Sharjah hook maiden UAE Scratch League title

Kent Gray — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 11:13:24 +0000

The victorious SGSC team with the UAE Scratch League trophy: (back row from left) Nathan Fisher, Adam Smith, Michael Harradine, John Mills, Ramli Sulaiman; (front row from left) William Xu, Thomas Murdoch, Chris Alderman, Barry Cotter, Mike Robson.

By Kent Gray
It has been quite the month for Nathan Fisher and an even better year for his beloved Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club (SGSC).

The 33-year-old South African did the small club with big ambitions proud by winning the 36-hole Emirates Golf Federation OOM Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in early May, edging JGE teen Arjun Gupta in a sudden death playoff for his maiden EGF title after a run of near misses.

Fisher survived another nerve-jangling playoff to land an even bigger title for the little 9-hole club that could at the weekend as SGSC overcame regional superpower and perennial title contenders Emirates Golf Club in the UAE Scratch League Final.

The two-day decider went to sudden death after the honours where shared on the Majlis 2-2 and the Peter Harradine-designed Sharjah layout, also 2-2, in regulation play, making it 4-4. SGSC opted for Fisher (+3.3 handicap) and Chinese 15-year-old Zi (William) Ang Xu (+0.6 handicap) to face former touring professional Mike Mezei (+3.8) and Kenny Babcock (+2.5) in overtime. It was some matchup with Fisher and Xu unbeaten all season and the Emirates G.C. duo flawless in the Grand Final.

“Miracle” par saves from Babcock and Mezei, the former from sand and the latter from water, kept Emirates GC in it on the 1st and 2nd respectively before the quartet halved the 3rd, again in pars.

Fisher then produced the telling blow, his 4-iron from 220 yards finding the back of the 553-yard par-5, 4th at Sharjah. The four-time SGSC champion rolled the ensuing 30-footer to three feet and then held his nerve to clinch the title before a rowdy crowd of nearly 50.

SGSC Director of Golf, Martin Duff, singled out Fisher and Xu, who only made his debut for the team in January, for special praise afterwards.

“I am extremely proud of everyone involved but the way our two players played the four playoff holes really was quite incredible and I really do believe they deserved the win,” said Duff.

The victory capped a memorable season for SGSC which celebrated its 10th anniversary in March with a second successful staging of the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters, the only tour event played on a 9-hole course. The Staysure Tour (formerly European Senior Tour) season-opener was won by Thai Thaworn Wiratchant.

“The golf course turned 10 years old at the start of March and to have won a title like the UAE Scratch League, beating much bigger clubs with much bigger memberships really is something for everyone involved to be extremely proud of,“ Duff continued.

SGSC had earlier edged Abu Dhabi Golf Club in their Scratch League semifinal while Emirates overcame Dubai Golf sister club, Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, to reach the final.

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Kim hoping for a hot putter as Omega Dubai Ladies Classic goes to the wire

Kent Gray — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 17:57:19 +0000

By Kent Gray
Much has been made of the Majlis being a big-hitters paradise during this week’s OMEGA Dubai Ladies Classic.

Laura Davies, among others, certainly agrees. “It is, yeah,” said the four-time major champion who finds herself with a decent shot at a 46th Ladies European Tour title after a moving day 66. “You can take corners on. Like the 1st, the big hitters can take the bunker on, no problem. The second is drivable today and the third is reachable in two. So yeah, this is a big hitter’s course, and it’s unusual for us to get one of them.”

In-Kyung Kim, who describes herself as an “average” length hitter, isn’t so sure the new Dallah will be decided by the big-bombers. Rather, the reigning British Open champion and 2009 winner in Dubai thinks it will come down to whoever wields their flat stick best.

“I think it’s not really a long hitter or short hitter’s course,” said the 29-year-old South Korean who matched Davies 66 to move up from 34th at the start of the third round into a share of sixth with the golfing Dame and into the mix, four back of Dutch pace-setter Anne Van Dam.

I think the green reading, trusting it, is tricky, but whoever trusts it [will win] I guess…

“It’s like how many putts drops, I think, [that] kind of course. Because [the greens] are not very slopey but there is a lot of grain. I’m not sure I played with the grain the last time I was here because I heard they changed the greens a few years ago. I think the green reading, trusting it, is tricky, but whoever trusts it, I guess [will win].”

A birdie-birdie finish, both tap ins, has given Kim hope for Saturday although she knows the late afternoon winds that whip
up around Emirates G.C. will be a factor.

“I think I had the privilege to play without the wind [on Friday]. You know, less hassle. It’s not impossible, but when it’s windy, the scores can be tricky.”

After rounds of 73-69-66, Kim is certainly trending in the right direction.

“I really had a lot of fun today and even yesterday I feel I’m getting better with the time change and all that so I look forward tomorrow. Hopefully I can have fun tomorrow.

“You know, that’s the goal [winning], but I just want to play well tomorrow and go home just to my family, see my family.” The Dallah wouldn’t be a bad home-coming gift.

The post Kim hoping for a hot putter as Omega Dubai Ladies Classic goes to the wire appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Cover star wins 10th Golf Digest Middle East Classic

Kent Gray — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 04:38:53 +0000

Rayhan Thomas is flanked by Dubai Golf CEO Chris May (left) and Trump International Golf Club Dubai head professional Sven Nielsen on the Majlis’ 18th tee at Emirates G.C.

By Kent Gray
He graced our 100th edition cover and starred again at the tournament to mark the milestone.

World amateur No.26 Rayhan Thomas fired as easy a 68 as you are likely to see on the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club to unsurprisingly waltz away with the best gross crystal at the 10th Golf Digest Middle East Classic in association with King’s College Hospital London.

The 17-year-old Indian No.1s round was highlighted by four birdies and driver, 8 iron, eight foot putt for eagle on the par 5 13th and could have been lower but for a couple of uncooperative putts from close range.

Here’s a sweet swing from the MENA Tour history-marker on the par 3 4th at the Majlis which presented in magnificent condition as ever:

A sweet swing from @RayhanThomas on the par 3 4th @EmiratesGC. The @WAGRank #26 shot 68 to win the 9th @GolfDigestME Classic in a canter. ? pic.twitter.com/tCJ1ZQjUz6

— Golf Digest ME (@GolfDigestME) October 18, 2017

Afterwards the Junior Presidents Cup representative was presented with a memento of his two Golf Digest covers from October 2016 and this month when he replicated our very launch issue cover from Nov. 2008 featuring singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake.

Thomas now has the prestigious Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in his sights. The winner at Royal Wellington GC in New Zealand’s capital city from Oct. 26-29 earns invites to next year’s U.S Masters at Augusta National and the Open Championship at Carnoustie in Scotland.

Meanwhile, Miguel Quintana won division A (0-10 handicap) title with 38 stable ford points, but only on a better back nine count back from Casper Schonfeldt. Paul Dillon won division B (11-24 handicaps) with 37 points to edge Kyle Taggart by a point.

Both Quintana and Dillon won a pair of shoes from sponsor ECCO while the runners-up scored season passes to January’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

On course prizes went to Yves Buchard and Schonfeldt for nearest the pin on the 7th and 15th holes respectively. Schonfeldt drove away with a weekend Mercedes experience courtesy of the series’ official lease partner Autoroute.

The Els Club’s Karl Whitehead won nearest the pin on 2 on the par 4 17th while Julek Szczawinski collected a pair of season passes to the Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens thanks to the straightest drive on the par 5 3rd.

The post Cover star wins 10th Golf Digest Middle East Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Paige Impressions

Kent Gray — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 05:50:23 +0000

Golf is a numbers game and increasingly so for the Ladies European Tour as we revealed in our 9 for 9 feature in this month’s bumper 100th issue of Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
There are few more polarising figures in golf than Paige Spiranac and the American’s anointment as the most influential female to play in the Middle East this past decade will undoubtedly fuel the fevered divide.

What’s not at question is the staggering amount of eye-balls the wannabe professional golfer-cum-social media goddess has drawn to the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters in the past two years.

The Ladies European Tour is a tough sell as the LET itself has found this season with six events dropping off the schedule, including Qatar. With due golfing respect to 2011 champion Lexi Thompson and the brilliantly kooky Shanshan Feng who has captured four of the last five titles on the Majlis, Spiranac has played a pivotal role in ensuring Dubai remains a beacon amid that gloom.

Her golf scores – 77-79 in 2015 to finish +12 and 77-80 last year for another cut missing +13 aggregate – invited trolls the world over to have a pop. But the faceless cowards were drowned out by much bigger numbers, those enticing new fans to the royal and ancient game.

“The Daily Mail ran a story on Paige in 2015 and they contacted us later to tell us that in the history of the Daily Mail, it was the first time golf had ever been the No.1 story read worldwide,” Tournament Director David Spencer says. “The readership was larger than football. I mean I think we had 500 million media impressions that year and we’ve broadened that since”.

The more satisfying figure for Spencer were the number of young girls – and boys – who showed up for a clinic on the Friday of last year’s tournament, chiefly due to Spiranac.

“There is obviously a connection to golf via social media and we’ve got to be competitive with other sports. It’s not easy to get sponsorship.”

Spiranac won’t be put through the “trauma” of playing a third straight year from Dec. 6-9 but will be back in late Jan. to serve as the official starter at the Dubai Desert Classic. The men are secretly excited too, patently aware what the 24-year-old’s 1.5+ million social media followers could do for their own profiles.

Tweet about it all you like, but the new age of celebrity driven pro golf is here to stay.

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