Buchanan is hoping to celebrate Scots success as he signs off at Al Ain
Scottish players teeing up in this week’s Abu Dhabi Challenge were met by a wellknown face at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club and he’s hoping to join one of them in a double celebration on Sunday night.
Tom Buchanan, who hails from Stranraer and did his PGA training at Duddingston in Edinburgh before moving to the Middle East, is the operations manager at this week’s venue, but is bringing down the curtain on his 12-year spell thereafter the final putt drops on Sunday.
“I’m moving to pastures new outside of AESGC and it would be a wonderful way to end my spell with a Scottish winner ,” he told The Scots man .“i’ m sure we would have mutual celebrations on Sunday night!”
Daniel Young, who has made a promising start to the 2024 campaign, spearheads the Scottish contingent in the first leg of a desert double-header for the Challenge Tour, with Saadiyat Beach staging next week’s UAE Challenge. Challenge Tour card holders Euan Walker, craig howie and jack Mcdonald are in the line-up while Michael Stewart has secured an invitation along with Dubai-based duo Tom Ogilvie and Louis Gaughan.
“It’s fantastic to host the event in the club’ s history ,” said Buchanan of the $300,000 event, which features two former Ryder Cup players in Nicolas Colsaerts and Chris Wood. “I would like to thank the trust that the DP World Tour and Emirates
Golf Federation have put in us to deliver a top-class event.
“It’s a fantastic field and great to see so many Scottish lads in it, many of whom have been here in the winter during my 12 years at Al Ain. We have always been proud of our facilities and golf course, so to be able to host this qualityof player and field, we hope that many will see it in the light we hold it.
“Our golf agronomy team led by Thomas Love (who formerly worked at Glenbervie) and operations team led by Shane Peacock deserve huge credit for the presentation of the course, as well as the smooth handling in the operations, allowing players to enjoy our facilities and have an enjoyable experience.”
One of the players who is well acquainted with Al Ain is Howie, who first went there when he was at Stirling University and, through that, is now officially attached to the club. “It’s great to get away from the hustle and bustle of cities like dubai ,” said the peebl es man .“Al A in is a little bit quieter, so it’s a perfect place to come and work away from distractions. The course is always in great condition and the team does a great job of keeping it like that. The practicearea is as good as you’ ll get anywhere else.”
Howie, who held adp world Tour card two seasons ago, has made a solid start to the new season, having made the cut in all six events. “I’ve been pretty consistent this year, but I’ve not really had a big finish, so I’m looking to improve on that this week,” he said. “I haven’t got super high expectations, but it’s obviously a course I know well, which could be a difference maker.”