McGowan looks to continue winning ways

Casablanca: Fresh from last week’s victory in the Mena Golf Tour’s season-opening Royal Golf Dar es Salaam Open in Rabat, Ross McGowan will be looking to continue winning ways in round two of the 10-stage series at the Royal D’Anfa Open in Casablanca from Thursday.

The Englishman, who won by two strokes after starting the final round six shots off the pace last week, will be looking to match the feat of his compatriot Zane Scotland, the only back-to-back winner on tour.

“I am not thinking about the result or any record,” said McGowan, who ended a 912 day trophy drought with last week’s victory. “The aim is to try and play as well as I can and see what happens.”

One of the most decorated players in the in field, having won the 2009 Madrid Masters on the European Tour, McGowan is paired with rising Arab stars — Morocco’s Ahmad Marjane and Saudi Arabia’s Khalid Attieh — in the first round.

Last year’s runner-up Faycal Serghini will have the company of Jake Shepherd, the winner of the Order of Merit title in 2011, and Sweden’s Johan Wolkesson Persson.

Another interesting grouping will see Scotland, a nine-time winner of the tour, go out with Germany’s Dominic Foos and promising Moroccan amateur Ayoub Lguirati.

With 33 entries, including 17 amateurs, Moroccan players are headlining the field of 103 players, including 25 amateurs, which also consists of 21 golfers from England and, for the first time, 13 from Spain in what promises to be an absorbing contest on a course described by head pro Mohammad Makroune as in “great condition.”

“If the weather stays calm, as is the forecast for the week, there will be plenty of scoring opportunities,” he said. “The course is short and requires an accurate tee shot due to strategically located fairway bunkers if you aim to shoot low.

“If you can keep the ball in play, you can make lots of birdies. Wind will be a big factor throughout the week. If it blows, which usually is the case, I think a score between 14 and 16 will be the winning one,” he added.