Iten flying high on two eagles at the RAK Open
Ras Al Khaimah: Switzerland’s Marco Iten made a stunning debut on the Mena Tour when two eagles on the back nine of Tower Links Golf Club helped him soar to the top of the Ras Al Khaimah Open leaderboard on the opening day Monday.
The 29-year-old from Zurich was playing on a special exemption, trying to get some match sharpness ahead of the second stage of European Tour Qualifying School next week. And he made the most of the opportunity, with a hot start, followed by a back nine of 30 with the two eagles.
One shot behind the leader were Sweden’s Niclas Weiland and Scotland’s Scott Henry, who shot matching rounds of 65 playing together in the second group in the morning. The duo was later joined by England’s Joshua Grenville-Wood, who holed out from 139 yards to eagle the par-4 15th.
“It was a good day. I got off to a fast start and managed to carry that momentum on to the back nine. I was able to hit both the par-5s in two and make my putts,” said Iten, who lost his card on the European Challenge Tour this year.
“It definitely is a great confidence booster ahead of the second stage of the Q School next week. I can do with a few tournament rounds ahead of that and was looking for a place to play and some of my friends told me how good the MENA Tour is. I am thankful for the opportunity and hopefully, we can take the momentum from this round to the next two days.”
