Ras Al Khaimah: His short game nicely home, Peter Stojanovski strung together a solid 66 to win the Mena Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah Classic by three shots as overnight leader Daniel Owen endured a dreadful final round on Wednesday.
A good five shots off the pace at the start, Stojanovski lit up the back nine with six birdies against a lone bogey after making the turn at one under to finish at 13-under as the English duo of Andrew Marshall and Jamie Elson shared second on an eventful day at Tower Links Golf Club.
Seeking his first win on the Mena Tour, Owen carded a head-scratching 10-over-par 82 that left him in a tie for 23rd on two-under, bringing back memories of a similarly spectacular collapse by his fellow Englishman Jake Shepherd, who also blew a five-shot lead, incidentally in the same tournament in 2011.
The day belonged to Stojanovski, a 22-year-old prodigy who left some better-known names trailing in his wake with a consistent performance all week, becoming the first Australian to win a Mena Tour event.
“I am really delighted to win for the first time on the Mena Tour. I played some solid golf and really pleased to get the job done,” said the Sydney native after receiving the winner’s trophy from Simon Payne, General Manager, Tower Links Golf Club.
“I just played my own game and didn’t think about what others were doing around me. I focused on every golf shot that I hit and that helped,” said the Australian, whose previous best finish on the Mena Tour being a top-six at the 2014 Ras Al Khaimah Classic.
Owen’s stunning meltdown notwithstanding, idyllic conditions at Tower Links Golf Club brought a raft of red-figure rounds with Golf’s Mr Nice Guy Marshall leading the way with a sparkling 65 that moved him up from overnight tied 17th to second overall.
England’s Josh Walsh and Germany’s Georg Schultes matched Marshall’s best score of the tournament to climb up the leaderboard as Welsh ace Stephen Dodd, who started the day in a tie for second, settled for tied 13th on five under after a final round 74.
Walsh joined fellow Englishmen Max Williams and Stuart Archibald for a share of fourth on nine under while Schultes finished in a three-way tie for seventh a further shot adrift.