MENA Tour breaks new ground with first 72-hole event in Thailand
CHON BURI, Thailand: The MENA Tour breaks new ground this week when Pattana Golf Club and Resort hosts the tour’s first 72-hole event in a perfect climax to the tour’s three- event swing in Thailand.
The air is thick with anticipation as the event, which will see the upscale resort make its debut as host venue of the tour, will carry more Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points than the tour’s usual 54-hole tournaments, further spicing up the competition.
With Thai ace Prom Meesawat joining the starting lineup for the first time, the Pattana Golf Championship, starting from Tuesday, will have a strong flavor, but things could change in a hurry as he will be up against a deeply talented field which includes a slew of potential winners.
Meesawat, a 32-year-old Hua Hin native, racked up a creditable tied 13th at the European Tour’s Hero Indian Open and tied 15th at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic this year and will be keen to keep up the good work when he tees it up alongside a strong field, represented by players from 25 countries.
Thai players lead the chart with 33 entries, including three amateurs, closely followed by England (32), India (14) and South Africa (11) in refection of the tour’s growing popularity in Thailand and beyond.
Notables in the field, who will be aiming to step up to the plate and challengeg Meesawat for honors include England’s Zane Scotland, a 10-time winner on the tour, Luke Joy, who finished runner-up at last week’s Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen, Lee Corfield and Craig Hinton, who all have strung together impressive streaks on the tour.
English cricketer-turned-golfer Craig Kieswetter and Emirati Ahmed Al-Musharrekh are also in the fray, hoping to make amends for missing the cut last week along with Spain’sp Leo Lilja,j the winner of the MENA Tour’s season-opening Palmeraie Country Club Casablanca Open in Morocco earlier this year.
Switzerland’s Dubai- based Michael Harradine and Thailand’s Worathon Zeng will lead the challenge in the amateur division that has attracted nine entries. Harradine topped the division on six-under 210 last week while Zeng had reigned supreme at the MahaSamutr Masters, the MENA Tour’s opening event on the Thailand swing, their impressive showing raising the prospects of another intriguing duel.
“We are very excited to be part of the MENA Tour. It will provide us with a great opportunity to showcase our championship course to a field which wears a global look,” said Rujirapun Juangroongruangkit, executive vice president of Pattana Golf Club.
“We look forward to welcoming MENA Tour members and I am confident they will have a memorable experience playing on our course which is in great condition.”