Zane Scotland admitted to feeling the buzz again after hauling himself back into contention as Sweden’s Oscar Hertzberg produced one of the rarest shots in golf, an albatross, going into the final round of the Golf Citizen Classic at the Els Club, Dubai, on Tuesday.
England’s Scotland, a 10-time winner on the MENA Tour, rediscovered some magic of old, following his solid opening 69 with a 67 to join Wales’ Toby Hunt and Hamza Amin of Pakistan in a three-way tie for second on eight-under, just two shots behind South Africa’s MG Keyser, who is chasing a second MENA Tour title on the trot.
Sweden’s Henric Sturehed and Max Smith were tied for fifth on eight-under, one clear of the English duo Stuart Archibald and Craig Hinton, the 2016 MENA Tour champion.
On a day of ebb and flow, overnight leader Abhishek Jha endured a tough day, shooting a disappointing seven-under 79, littered with eight dropped shots, including a triple bogey on the a par-4, 10th and a birdie, to slip down the leaderboard to level-par for a share of 23rd.
ALBATROSS! Oscar Hertzberg holes out from 296 yards on the Par 5, 18th here @theelsclubdubai pic.twitter.com/Nr5D6RhxBg
— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) September 19, 2017
Despite continuing to suffer back pain, Scotland surprised himself with another tidy performance to stay in the mix.
“It was a pretty good day at work, made lots of birdies, which is great. I have not been playing golf for a long time due to a bad back. It’s still hurting, but it feels great just to give myself a chance this week. Feel that buzz again of getting into contention,” said Scotland.
“I don’t have too high expectations heading into the final round. Will see how things unfold. Of course, shooting a 67 has certainly added to my confidence,” said Scotland, whose last victory on the MENA Tour came at the 2016 Royal Golf Mohammed Open in Morocco.
Showing no intention of taking his foot off the gas pedal, Keyser rebounded from a bogey-bogey start to light up the back nine with four birdies and an eagle as he bids to emulate Scotland, the only back-to-back winner on the MENA Tour.
“I am striking the ball really well and just having fun out there. I missed at least four to five mid-range birdie putts on the front nine before finally holing one on the ninth. With that putt, my putter suddenly went hot,” said Keyser, who smashed his five-iron approach from 222 yards to within 15 feet and holed the ensuing eagle putt on the 13th.
“You never know what tomorrow holds, but one this is certain: I will go out there and have some fun,” said the 30-year-old Dubai resident from Pretoria.
Walsh ace Hunt, starting the day a good four shots back, carded a bogey-free 67 to climb up the leaderboard while Pakistan’s Hamza survived a mid-round meltdown to finish strongly, firing an eagle on the 16th before making another gain on the 18th en route to a second-round 69.
Darren Clarke on why the @theMENATour is so important to him @BUAMIMMj @thestripegroup @RayhanThomas @golfindubai_ @ZaneScotland pic.twitter.com/r54PGAnFgV
— Dubai Eye Sport (@DubaiEyeSport) September 15, 2017
Elsewhere, Hertzberg produced the highlight of the day as he holed his three-wood second shot from 296 yards on the par-5, 18th after hitting a drive of 340 yards for a double eagle — only the second in the MENA Tour history — that propelled the 22-year-old Swede into a tie for 28th on one over.
The English duo of Taylor Carter and Todd Clements led the amateur division on one-over par, a good two shots ahead of Saud Al Sharif of Saudi Arabia and Marcus Toennessen of Germany as UAE’s Khalid Yousuf carded a level-par 72 to make the cut.
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.
