MENA Tour rookie Abhishek Jha fired a flawless seven-under 65 to seize the early momentum in the Golf Citizen Classic at the Els Club, Dubai, on Monday.
In sparkling form off the tee, the 30-year-old from the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, Jha reeled off seven birdies, including four on the bounce from the third to move atop the leaderboard, a good two shots clear of Pakistan’s Hamza Amin and South Africa’s MG Keyser, the winner of last week’s Dubai Creek Open.
South Africa’s Teagan Moore, who shot two stunning eagles en route to a 68, occupied solo fourth, one ahead of a seven-man group that included England’s Zane Scotland and Craig Hinton, the winner of the MENA Tour Order of Merit title in 2016.
On a hot and humid day when 25 players broke par, Jha managed to keep his nose in front, stringing together his career-best round on the MENA Tour he joined this year after graduating from the Qualifying School.
Good scoring from MENA Tour rookie, Abhishek Jha! The clubhouse leader @theelsclubdubai on -7 after an opening round 65! pic.twitter.com/C3wH8T8l05
— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) September 18, 2017
“I drove the ball well all day and holed some nice putts. Making those four birdies in a row from the third kind of kick-started my round. Overall, I played a good, solid round,” said Jha, who made the turn at four-under.
“It could have been a great one, but I missed a few putts coming home. That’s golf. You can’t complain after opening with a 65,” said Jha, who turned professional in 2010.
Pakistan’s Amin also kept it clean, making three birdies and an eagle (on the par-5, fifth) as he keeps knocking on the door for a breakthrough win on the MENA Tour.
“Played quite nicely from tee to green. Going bogey-free always feels good. I really enjoy playing on this course and it’s just a matter of keeping the momentum going,” said Amin, a regular on the MENA Tour.
Picking up where he left off last week, South Africa’s Keyser firmly put himself in contention for back-to-back titles with a tidy 67, studded with an eagle and three birdies. If he wins on Wednesday, he will become only the second player after Scotland to make it two in a row on the MENA Tour.
Gud luck 2 all playing this week at @theelsclubdubai for @theMENATour. Wish I cud play but dates clash with Jr Presidents Cup.#international
— Rayhan Thomas (@RayhanThomas) September 17, 2017
Elsewhere, Sweden’s Fredrik From, who is currently leading the Order of Merit standings, settled for a level-par 72 while veteran Andrew Marshall carded a 73 to join fellow Englishman Jake Shepherd in a 13-way tie for 37th.
UAE’s Ahmed Al Musharrekh, three under through 13, had his chances to hit the front page of the leaderboard, but dropped a couple of shots coming home and that left him sharing 26th on level-par.
Germany’s Marcus Toennessen returned a 71 to lead the amateur division, one stroke clear of a group that included Saudi Arabia’s Othman Almulla and England’s Todd Clements.
An initiative of the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, the MENA Tour was created in 2011 with the aim of developing golf in the region. It is affiliated to R&A, the worldwide golf governing body based in the home of golf, St Andrews, and the Arab Golf Federation and enjoys the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status.
A guaranteed spot on the PGA Tour’s 2018 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational (for the MENA Tour champion), multiple European Tour starts, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Maybank Championship Malaysia, and the KLM Open, are some of the added incentives that await MENA Tour members, in addition to playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour, and exemptions into the Final Stage of the Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour Q-Schools.
