Sport - Golf - Joe Heraty
Malaysian Swing I Winner, Joe Heraty Image Credit: MENA Tour

England’s Joe Heraty held onto his overnight lead in The MENA Tour Malaysian Swing Event 1 at The Els Club Desaru Coast to become the first ever MENA Tour event winner on Malaysian soil.

Despite strong final rounds from his closest competitors, Heraty fired a solid level par round of 72 to beat Malaysian Paul San & Italian Arron Zemmer by three shots.

Heraty’s scores over the three days were 71, 64, 72 for a total of 9 under par.

Winner of the amateur category was Egyptian Issa Abbou El Ela with rounds of 73, 75, 72 for a total of 4 over par.

Five Malaysian's finished top 10

Of the 36 Malaysian players in the field this week, 14 made the cut and five of those finished in the top 10 overall results. The low round of the final day was 4 under par (68) by Malaysia’s Danny Chia who finished tied for 8th place overall.

General Manager of The Els Club Desaru Coast, Mr. Harris Abdulla congratulated the players on such a successful tournament and welcomed them to the Desaru Coast area.

Winner Heraty thanked Harris & all the team from The Els Club Desaru Coast & highlighted the fantastic work carried out by golf course superintendent Sean Kinsley.

Second event just days away

The MENA Tour returns to The Els Club Desaru Coast on April 18th – 20th to hold the 2nd event of the Malaysian Swing on the 2022/23 schedule.

MENA Tour Tournament Director Stuart Daly commented, “We can’t wait to return to The Els Club Desaru Coast again next week. The golf course provides so many opportunities and challenges to the players. We will endeavor to give them a new challenge for the 2nd event. The hospitality we have expericnced from our hosts here in Malaysia has been outstanding. The team at The Els Club Desaru Coast and our official hotel, Hard Rock Desaru Coast, have both been world-class.”

The MENA Tour was created in 2011 to give both professional & amateur players from the region the opportunity to play in professional events at world leading venues. Past winners include Matt Fitzpatrick & Robert MacIntyre.