Dubai: India’s Rahyan Thomas will be the first of many talents to emerge from the Mena Tour, according to patron of the series and former European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke.
Thomas, 17, became only the second UAE-based amateur to make the cut in the history of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Saturday before going on to finish three over par (68,75,74,74), tied for 60th, 22 strokes off eventual winner Sergio Garcia.
The Dubai-based schoolboy qualified for this event after winning last year’s Mena Tour Amateur Order of Merit; and is the first amateur and youngest player to win an event in the series.
“There is a lot of young kids with a lot of talent,” said Clarke, during a press conference to announce the Mena Tour’s 2017 schedule, on Sunday.
“Seeing what Rayhan’s doing, I think it might inspire them, and maybe lift their game a little bit more as well.
“He will be the leader of that pack of kids coming through and hopefully they will get inspiration from what he’s doing.”
Mena Tour chairman Mohammad Juma Bu Amim said Rayhan’s performance was great for the seven-year-old tour.
“I think it’s a good statement for us,” he said. “If anyone asks me how the Mena Tour is doing, they just have to look at Rayhan who is playing alongside Masters champion Danny Willett on the final day.
“That to me is success and we hope to build on it. The Mena Tour gave him the opportunity to play in this tournament. And then for him to shoot good scores like he did, that’s massive.
“It shows that the kid has the ability to progress further and we will support him all the way.”
Thomas said: “It’s been a great week, making the cut was nice, I played some really good golf and it was good to see I was around the mix.
“I learnt a lot about course management and how to deal with routine and external pressure, talking to media and signing autographs, which is new.”
Asked about turning professional, he said: “That probably won’t come until after I finish school in 2019, obviously this is where I want to be someday but I’m not thinking about it anytime soon.”
The Mena Tour announced a 15-stage season running from March to October starting with Q-school in Morocco and ending with a tour championship in Al Ain.
The highlight of the schedule is an extended three-stage swing in Thailand with the continuation of co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Big Easy Tour in South Africa.
Also announced was the start of Project 300, which aims to get a Mena Tour player in the Olympics by 2020. Players hoping to qualify for Tokyo must get within 300 in the world rankings. Mena events were granted world rankings points for the first time last season.
Darren Clarke also announced his patronage of the Mena Tour had been extended by another three years and Zane Scotland, who holds the record for most wins on tour with 11, was presented with lifetime membership.
