England’s Hinton wins wire-to-wire at Yas Links Abu Dhabi

Dutch prodigy Verlaar emerges leading amateur as El Hassani takes MENA Division

ABU DHABI, Sept 28: Craig Hinton survived a compelling late fight-back from his fellow Englishman Scott Campbell to seal a tense wire-to-wire victory at the Ascorp Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open at Yas Links on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old Englishman closed with a 69 to reach 13-under for the tournament, edging Campbell by one shot for his second win on the MENA Golf Tour.

England’s Lee Corfield, playing in the final group alongside Hinton, occupied solo third after carding a final round 70 as Zane Scotland and his playing partner Joe Heraty shared fourth on nine under, one ahead of Spain’s Borja Cabello.

“It was a pretty enjoyable week. This golf course is just fantastic. Stuck to my game plan and didn’t miss much. And if I did it was in the right areas and that gave me good scoring opportunities,” said Hinton after receiving the winner’s trophy from Giuliano Gasparini, senior manager of hospitality and leisure for Aldar Properties, and Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour.

“I think making a birdie on the 17th was crucial as it gave me a oneshot cushion standing on the 18th tee. During the whole week, I may have missed a few putts, but holed the crucial ones which was the key,” said the Thame native.

Campbell, starting the day five off the pace, made things interesting, shooting a sparkling 65 to set the clubhouse target at 12 under par.

“Played really well, but it wasn’t good enough to get over the line,” said Campbell, who made eight birdies and one bogey in his final round. “But I am very happy to finish the way I did.”

Playing in his very first event on the MENA Golf Tour, Pierre Junior Verlaar of the Netherlands wasted no time in making his presence felt, winning the leading amateur title on sixunder, a good three shots ahead of Scotland’s Daniel Hendry.

“The whole week I played very well. Struck the ball beautifully and managed to keep it in play, but didn’t make many putts,” said the 18-yearold Dutch prodigy from Sint Willebrord.

“It was fun playing on the MENA Golf Tour and looking forward to my next event on the tour in Oman.”

Morocco’s Younes El Hassani won the MENA Division for professionals on one under after carding a final round 70, beating his nearest challenger and compatriot Ahmed Marjan by one shot while Saudi Arabia’s Othman Almulla took the region’s leading amateur honours for the fourth time in a row.

Saving his best for last, Almulla returned a brilliant 69 to reach level par for the tournament, finishing a good six shots ahead of Morocco’s Jamal Allali in his division.

“The whole UAE swing has been great for me. Played really well, but didn’t hole that many putts,” said the 30-year-old Saudi ace, who mixed four birdies with a lone bogey at the 16th. El Hassani was also pleased with efforts. “It was a pretty satisfying week. I played some solid golf and did not make much mistakes,” said Younes, who lit up his final round with an eagle on the par-4, 16th when he holed an eight iron from 158 yards. The MENA Golf Tour will now travel to Kuwait City for the first time for the Sahara Kuwait Championship to be held at Sahara Golf and Country Club from Oct 17-19.

Leading final scores: 1.Craig Hinton (England) 13-under

2.Scott Campbell 12-under

3.Lee 10-under

Leading amateur: Pierre Junior Verlaar (Netherlands) – six-under 210

Corfield

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MENA Division: Leading professional: Younes El Hassani (Morocco) – one under par

Leading amateur: Othman Almulla (Saudi Arabia) – level par 216 Winner Craig Hinton with Giuliano Gasparini of Aldar Properties and Mohamed

Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour at Yas Links Abu Dhabi.