Stephen Loftus shot a superb gross 137 to beat the field of 96 and claim the Montgomerie Men’s Open in his first ever visit to the Dubai course.
Stephen Loftus shot a superb gross 137 to beat the field of 96 and claim the Montgomerie Men’s Open in his first ever visit to the Dubai course.
The Irishman shot 67 on the first day which included seven birdies to take control of the two-day event. Loftus didn’t look back from there and after a second-round 70, victory was assured in the first event of the Emirates Golf Federation Order of Merit.
Mike Mezei of Emirates Golf Club was the nearest competitor to Loftus and after carding an impressive 69 in the second round finished with a total gross score of 141 to finish four off the lead.
“I got off to a fast start yesterday and hit seven birdies that put me in control and today was all about not making any mistakes,” said Loftus. “I was solid over the whole 36 holes and didn’t really make any mistakes so I think my consistency has won it for me over the two days.”
“It’s a beautiful course here and it’s the first time I’ve ever played it, you just have to play it how you see it but today I knew where a lot of the trouble was and played a little bit more defensively which brought me the win.”
Bayhaan Lakdawala came third with a total gross score of 144 and also took home the prize for longest drive on the second day with his big hit on hole nine.
Ryan Smith Tournament Coordinator for the Address Montgomerie said: “It’s been a fantastic event and a big thanks to the superintendent and his team as they have done a brilliant job over the summer to get the course the way it is and it really played well this weekend with some great feedback off the players.
“It’s the first event of the Emirates Golf Federation Order of Merit so we always get a really strong field, we had a total of about 120 entries but we can only take 96.
“We had seven of the UAE National team players playing which is always great to see them supporting the event. To see the calibre of golf this weekend has been great including seeing some of the juniors that are taught by our pros, it’s great to see them progress.”
