Dubai: Former club captain Joseph Andrade romped to a superb victory at the new Mashreq Medal Championship in association with BMW played on Saturday at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht club. Nearly 90 players took part, hoping to finish the day at the top of the new Dubai Golf order of merit series.

And it was Andrade who, despite being a bit a little rusty lately, fired a superb gross 80 to produce a stunning net score of 64 and a convincing six-stroke win.

After being presented with his prize, Andrade commented: “I am very happy to have had such a good game after a long break, especially to start the new year with a win. The course was in excellent condition and was a joy to play. A big thank you to everyone involved for making the event such a success, and I look forward to playing in many more.”

Meanwhile, Peter Stapleton got his year off to a flying start with a fantastic performance and a net 70, which earned him first place in Men’s Division A by one shot over Ishwar Jodha, who notched a net 71. Dubai Creek’s Scratch Match Play champion Paul King also scored a net 71, but he was awarded the prize for the best gross performance for the second consecutive month after his fine round of one-over par 72. Pritam Mirchandani took the Men’s Division B title with a net 73, ahead of Haridas Kondath, who was second on 75.

Vanessa North managed to go one better this month after finishing runner-up in December’s medal as she took the Ladies’ Division with a solid one-over par net 72. Rishi Nair shot a superb net 65 to win the Junior Division by five shots over his older brother Dhruv.

At the prize presentation ceremony Dubai Creek’s Head Golf Professional, Stephen Hubner, said: “It’s wonderful to see such a successful start to this exciting new Dubai Golf series. Our thanks go to our new title sponsor Mashreq Bank for their support which will allow us to deliver a more exciting format with added value for our members. As always, a big thank you must also go to our long-term supporter BMW for continuing their involvement in the Dubai Golf monthly medals. I am delighted to announce that their support will enable us to provide BMW cars as hole-in-one prizes at several events starting next month.”