Joel's big test

DUBAI : Joel Neale has dominated golf here for two years, scooping up the amateur Order of Merit twice. But this weekend he will find out how good he really is when he tees off against the best young players from the UK.

The Abu Dhabi Junior Golf Championship is the proving ground from Friday to Sunday and Neale is relishing the challenge of being the first UAE resident to challenge 20 young stars whittled down from some 40,000 who entered the event in the UK.

"This is a great opportunity to play with some of the top juniors on my home turf, and will give me valuable experience. I usually have to go back to the UK to play in the top junior tournaments, so I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to play in such a prestigious tournament on my doorstep," Neale told XPRESS.

He was an avid spectator as Lee Westwood struck glory last week and hopes to follow in his footsteps. "Westwood is my favourite golfer and is a great guy. His belief in himself and his positive mentality are definitely things I will be trying to apply to my game," he added.

Neale will face a couple of familiar adversaries at Abu Dhabi. "I used to go to school with a couple of the guys who are coming over, Max Smith and Jack McKenzie, so it will be good to see them again," Neale said. For the big-hitting 18-year-old to fulfil his ambition to be a professional golfer he knows where he needs to improve. "My driving is strong at the moment," he said.

"My long game is looking good. I guess my concerns are more on my short game, but I have been working hard on this and hopefully everything will come together at the weekend.