Dubai: Craig Hinton survived a compelling late fightback from his fellow Englishman Scott Campbell to seal a tense wire-to-wire victory at the Ascorp Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open at Yas Links on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old closed with a 69 to reach 13-under for the tournament, edging Campbell by one shot for his second win on the Mena Tour.
England’s Lee Corfield, playing in the final group alongside Hinton, occupied solo third after carding a final round 70 as Zane Scotland and his playing partner Joe Heraty shared fourth on nine under, one ahead of Spain’s Borja Cabello.
“I stuck to my game plan and didn’t miss much. If I did it was in the right areas and that gave me good scoring opportunities,” said Hinton. “I think making a birdie on the 17th was crucial as it gave me a one-shot cushion standing on the 18th tee. During the whole week, I may have missed a few putts, but holed the crucial ones which was key.”
Campbell, starting the day five off the pace, made things interesting, shooting a sparkling 65 to set the clubhouse target at 12 under.
“I played really well, but it wasn’t good enough to get over the line,” said Campbell, who made eight birdies and one bogey in his final round.
Elsewhere, tour debutant Pierre Junior Verlaar of Holland won the amateur title on six under, three shots clear of Scotland’s Daniel Hendry. And Morocco’s Younus Al Hassni won the Mena Division on one under, one shot clear of compatriot Ahmad Marjan, while Saudi Arabia’s Othman Almulla took the region’s leading amateur honour for a fourth time in a row. The tour now heads to Kuwait for the first time from October 17-19.
