Muscat: Lee Corfield will be looking to defend his Ghala Open title in the penultimate round of the 16-stage Mena Golf Tour this week. Currently ninth on the Order of Merit, the 34-year-old Englishman needs another strong finish at the Ghala Golf Club in Muscat, Oman, from Monday, to close the gap between him and the leaders.
“Everybody is capable of having a great week and winning, but it feels nice to come to a venue where you have enjoyed a bit of success,” he said.
“My game is in good shape and I am really looking forward to the week ahead,”
The event offers one last chance to competitors to consolidate their positions on the Order of Merit before the ‘cut’ is made for next week’s season-ending Tour Championship at Muscat Hills Golf Club, which boasts a prize fund of US$100,000 (Dh367,315).
Craig Hinton currently leads the Order of Merit for professionals, but with the likes his fellow Englishmen Zane Scotland, Andrew Marshall and Luke Joy all close behind it could be a nailbiting finale.
Going forward many storylines could unfold as England’s Joe Heraty, who matched the Mena Tour’s record for the lowest 18-hole score with a 62 en route to his two-shot victory in Kuwait last week, will be hoping to make it two in a row to join an exclusive list of multiple winners.
In the amateur division, Chile’s Matias Calderon, who also shot a 62 last week, and Brazil’s Tiago Lobo are heading for another showdown if they can produce the same form they showed in finishing tied third in Kuwait.
Top-ranked Omani golfer Azaan Al Rumhi will spearhead the home challenge in the Mena Division that features leading players from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, including Othman Almulla and Khaled Attieh, while Morocco’s Younus Al Hassani and Lebanon’s Peter Badawy headline the star cast in the region’s professional division.
