Al Ain: Joshua White carded a career-best 62 to set a new course and Mena Golf Tour record on the opening day of the Golf Citizen Masters — round eight of the nine-stage regional series — on Monday.
The 23-year-old Englishman made five birdies on the front nine and hit four on his return in a bogey-free round to move four shots clear of the pack.
Ahmad Marjane, James Housby, Matthew Swales, Jose Bondia Gil, Xavier Puig and Paul Doherty all share second at five under par, while a further five players, including amateur James Yeomans, are tied for eighth a shot further back on four under par.
“It feels nice to come off with a solid, smooth round,” said White, who beat the previous course record of 63 set by countryman Zane Scotland in 2012. “I have been really working very hard on my game and it finally paid off,” he added.
“Everything fell into place. Every time I needed to keep the momentum going, I managed to hit a good shot, which was the key.”
Marjane, who won round six of the series in Ras Al Khaimah recently, also made his presence felt on day one with another consistent display.
“It was good but not great,” he said. “I missed a lot of easy putts, some even from two feet. Had I holed all of them, I should have ended up on eight under, but that’s golf. You can never have a perfect day.”
Meanwhile, Housby was equally pleased with his opening day’s effort.
“I played pretty steady golf and hit a lot of fairways and greens. And when you do that you can always expect a good day.”
