Dubai: Leading Mena Golf Tour players will be aiming for more glory when they compete against a world-class field in the forthcoming Omega Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club from January 27 to February 2.
The top three professionals — England’s Zane Scotland, Welsh ace Stephen Dodd and rising English star Lee Corfield — and amateur, Mustapha Al Maouas of Morocco, from their respective Order of Merit rankings have been given direct entries into the main draw which will be headlined by world number one Tiger Woods, Europe’s top-ranked player Henrik Stenson and Northern Ireland’s golfing sensation Rory McIlory among other past champions.
Of the four, Dodd is no stranger to competing at the highest level, having finished runner-up to Ernie Els in the 2005 Omega Dubai Desert Classic while Scotland, whose burgeoning career was put on hold by a series of career-threatening injuries, will make his second consecutive appearance in the European Tour event, promoted and organized by golf in DUBAi.
Corfield, the winner of the Mena Golf Tour Championship, and Al Maouas, who topped the Order of Merit standings for amateurs, make their Omega Dubai Desert Classic debut when the event celebrates its 25th anniversary.
“The Omega Dubai Desert Classic was the incentive we were all after. And it’s very pleasing to achieve that. I played well most of the times throughout the 2013 Mena Golf Tour. The standard out there, I can tell from my experience, was very good,” said Dodd,
“It’s all about results and I got the one I wanted. There are good players on every tour now and wherever we win it’s a confidence boost. We must be doing things right if we get the results,” said Dodd who signed up for the Mena Golf Tour to try and rediscover the form he showed in winning three European Tour events — the Nissan Irish Open and the Volvo China Open, both in 2005, and the Smurfit Kappa European Open a year later.
Scotland was equally upbeat about his chances in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. “The [MENA] Golf Tour is just the platform the players need to put their careers on track. Where else can you get the opportunity to play in world-class events like the Omega Dubai Desert Classic? If I continue to play the way I did on the Tour, I think I stand a good chance of posting a good finish,” said Scotland, who topped the Order of Merit for professionals, punctuated with four title wins.
England’s Corfied, who made it to the 2013 MENA Golf Tour after finishing runner-up on the United Kingdom’s Jamega Golf Tour Order of Merit, is also rubbing his hands in anticipation. “It will be a big moment in my career and I can’t want to get started.
“I think, the MENA Golf Tour is going to be very big in the next few years. The structure is great and organisation just fantastic,” said Corfield, who overcame a five-shot deficit in the final round of the MENA Tour Championship to beat overnight leader Faycal Serghini in a playoff.
All eyes will be on Al Maouas, who became the second Moroccan after Ahmad Marjan to win the Amateur Order of Merit title. “I am really pleased with my performance. I am looking forward to playing in the Desert Classic, which is one of the biggest tournaments on the European Tour,” he added.
‘golf in DUBAi’ is backed by Omega as the title sponsor and Dubal (Dubai Aluminium) as the sponsor. The co-sponsors are: CNN, Drydocks World & Maritime World, Emirates NBD, Gulf News, Mercedes-Benz and Wasl while Dubai Duty Free, Carpetland and Motivate are the Patrons in golf in DUBAi’s drive to showcase the emirate’s vibrant golfing scene to a worldwide audience.
