Aqaba: Jamie Elson won the inaugural Ayla Golf Championship in a tense play-off on Saturday, holing a four-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole to beat fellow Englishman Luke Joy in an exciting finish to the first professional golf event in Jordan.
Elson, the current Mena Golf Tour Order of Merit leader, eagled the final hole in regulation en route to a closing 68 to set the clubhouse target of a seven-under-par 212 that Joy matched with a 72, birdieing the last after producing a stunning hole-in-one on the 12th.
Both birdied the first extra hole to extend the proceedings, but a wayward drive by Joy opened the door for Elson to secure his breakthrough win on the Mena Tour, since joining last year.
“I’m quite surprised to win, to be honest,” said Elson. “I struggled a bit on the front nine, but made a nice birdie on the ninth to get to level-par for the day. Thereafter, I played solid golf and holed putts when I needed to, to get into the playoff.
“The playoff could have gone either way, but I hit some great shots and made putts to get the job done, finally,” added the 36-year-old Englishman, who eagled the last in regulation, hitting his eight-iron approach from 185 yards to with two feet.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre fired a sizzling nine-under 64 to set a new course record to move into a four-way tie for third on six-under, making his professional debut one to remember.
“I was far off from the field after a disappointing 78 in the opening round and had nothing to lose. So, I played a bit aggressively and that approach paid off,” said the Scotsman, who eagled the final hole after hitting his nine-iron approach from 168 yards to within nine yards.
“I can always take a lot of confidence out of the last two bogey-free rounds, a lot of positives,” said the 21-year-old from Oban.
England’s Todd Clements, the first round joint leader with Joy, closed with a 72 to share the honours with Michael Harradine of Switzerland in the amateur division after both finished on one-over-par 220.
England’s Mark Chamberlain also had something to cheer about as he aced the 179-yard, par-3 16th with an eight-iron for his first hole-in-one since turning professional in 2011 — and the fifth overall — as he finished tied 47th.
The Mena Tour now heads to Kuwait for the Sahara Golf Championship from October 16-18 before the Tour Championship at Al Zorah Golf Club in Ajman, from October 23-26.
