Mohammedia, Morocco: Faycal Serghini produced a blistering performance on the back nine to haul himself back into contention with a blazing 65 going into the final round of the Royal D’Anfa Open, the opening event of the 2014 Mena Golf Tour, on Tuesday.
The leading Moroccan professional picked up five shots in his last seven holes, including an eagle on the 12th, to reach six-under 138 for the tournament.
This was just one shot adrift of overnight leader Joshua White, who may have fallen short of recreating the brilliance of his first-round 66, but a 71 was good enough for him to hold on to the lead.
Germany’s Sebastian Heisele, who grew up in Dubai, and Scotland’s Paul Doherty shared third place on five-under 139.
Defending champion Stephen Dodd moved into a tie for 11th after a second-round 68 along with another former European Tour player, Ross McGowan of England, who returned a level-par 72.
It was Serghini who turned out to be the star attraction, though, after shooting the best score of the day. “I think right distance and right choice of club was the key,” said the Moroccan, who made a slight change to his swing on the advice of his coach Adrian Fryer, which worked well for him.
“I worked on a few things suggested by my coach, something which gave me a confidence, and it showed in my performance. I eagled the 12th after hitting my eight-iron approach to within 15 feet and holed the putt. Thereafter, I birdied three more holes, which was good,” said Serghini, who nearly won last year’s Mena Golf Tour Championship in Al Ain before losing to England’s Lee Corfield in a play-off.
England’s White holed four birdies, including three on the front nine, to offset three bogeys, to stay atop the leaderboard. “I played very well again and hit lots of greens, but didn’t putt as well as I did in the first round. And that made the difference,” said the 23-year-old from London.
Germany’s Heisle made the most of the calm conditions early in the morning to make a move up the leaderboard. “I played a lot better today and putted especially well, which was the key. It’s not easy to putt on these undulating greens, but I am pleased with my day’s work,” said Heisle, who picked up his first club at the age of 12 and three years later managed to attain a scratch handicap.
Meanwhile, England’s Yasin Ali shot a 67, an improvement of 10 shots from his first round, to take a share of 23rd on level par 144 while Zane Scotland, a six-time winner on the Mena Golf Tour, slipped to tied 21st after a second-round 75.
“My yardages were much better and I played the par-threes well,” said Yasin Ali, adding: “It is early in the season for me, but things are beginning to fall into place, which is good.”
England’s James Allan leads the amateur division on two-under 142 after a second-round 69, two shots ahead of Morocco’s Karim Al Hali.
The cut was made at seven-over 151 with a total 60 players, including 10 amateurs, making it to the final round.
