David Langley is currently top of the Journey to Jordan Order of Merit on the MENA Tour and can earn a start on the Euoropean Tour at the Trophee Hassan II, in June, this week.

IT promises to be a fascinating battle between David Langley and David Hague in this week’s $75,000 Journey to Jordan No. 2, with a European Tour start up for grabs.

The English duo are chasing the big reward of a spot in the European Tour’s Trophee Hassan II.

The Order of Merit leader at the end of the first five events on the 2020 MENA Tour receives an invitation to the €2.5million Trophee Hassan II, in Morocco from June 4-7.

The lucky player will also receive free accommodation in the official hotel for that week.

After the fourth leg of the season, Journey to Jordan No. 1 winner Langley currently leads the Order of Merit with $24.909 – a lead of $784 over Hague winner of the Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open, who has earned $24,125 so far this season.

The equation is simple. With $400 assured for the last-placed player in the tournament, Hague will have to finish inside a two-way tie for the 12^th place to have any chance of overtaking Langley.

Having won at the Greg Norman-designed Ayla Golf Club last month, Langley, from Berkshire’s Castle Royle GC, probably starts as a pre-tournament favourite.

Yorkshireman Hague missed the cut at Ayla in his first start as a professional golfer, having opened with a disappointing 81.

However, current form would give the Malton & Norton GC member an advantage heading into Journey to Jordan No. 2, which starts today (Monday).

Last year’s Lee Westwood Trophy winner finished first in Bahrain with three solid rounds in windy conditions, last week.

Meanwhile his 25-year-old rival from Marlow, in Buckinghamshire, endured a tough final round in the same tournament and recorded a 79.

Langley, who lost his father to a long-term illness late in 2019, said: “Absolutely. The spot in Morocco is on my mind and if someone else in my situation says they are not thinking about it, they’d probably be lying.

“But it is not something that is going to control my shots during the tournament. It is something you think outside of it. I will be focused on each shot that I hit when I play the tournament.

“I have very happy memories of this golf course, and obviously, having played it quite a few times, I am very familiar with it.

“I drove the ball very well and made almost every putt from inside 10 feet when I won the Journey to Jordan No. 1, and I will have to do pretty much the same again this week,” said the former England amatuer international.

David Hague (left) with Chris Garrity, general manager of the host club and Saud Al Sharif, the low amateur in the MENA Tour’s Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open

Hague, who turned pro after MENA Tour Qualifying School at the same venue, said he did not touch his clubs after playing the pro-am in Bahrain a day after his victory.

“I got into Aqaba only last night after facing a few travel issues and Sunday was the first day I actually practiced.

“It’s been a crazy couple of days with so many messages from friends and people I know. I am so looking forward to going back home next week, but I have a job to do before that,” said Hague, who was a team-mate of Hague at the 2018 Home Internationals.

“I won’t say Morocco is my top priority right now. I am pretty good at taking every competition as it comes.

“It’s just a consequence of playing well and that’s what I’d be focused on this week.

“I did not have a great start to my professional career here, but I am looking forward to competing on this course,” added Hague, who was a junior at the same North Yorkshire club as European Tour winner Simon Dyson.

“I think I was too aggressive here the last time and threw away a few shots through careless mistakes. That’s something I want to avoid.

Langley and Hague have been paired together for the first two rounds and start their campaigns on Monday at 9.20am local time.

•To follow live scoring in the Journey to Jordan No. 2 click here.

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Bailey Gill receives his trophy from Ziyad Al Zubair, after winning the MENA Tour’s Ghala Open with two Houdini-like efforts to get up and down for birdie on the last two holes

LINDRICK’S Bailey Gill made two stunning birdies from almost impossible positions in his last two holes to claim his maiden pro victory and deny Berkshire’s David Langley a second MENA Tour victory in 2020 at the Ghala Open, in Oman.

The former England amateur international beat roommate and Journey to Jordan No. 1 champion David Langley by one shot, in the Omani capital Muscat.

Gill, who hails from Worksop, in Nottinghamshire, like Lee Westwood – but who is a member at Lindrick Golf Club, just over the Yorkshire border – was one behind leader Scot Craig Ross on the 16th tee.

Gill finished with three birdies in a row, including spectacular chips on the 17th and 18th holes to within a couple of feet for a 16-under par finish.

Gill, who was also a member of England’s Raymond Trophy winning team in Lahinch, in September, was one shot behind the leader going into last week’s final round of the inaugural NewGiza Open, in Cairo, but finished tied 12^th.

But Gill was not to be denied this week as he compiled a bogey-free round, that included five birdies in the last six holes.

The highlights were the ones on the 17th and 18th.

On the penultimate hole of the course, the left-hander pushed his drive and was faced with a difficult chip shot over the bunker with very little space to stop the ball.

On the 18th, he hit his tee shot left again and could barely see the flag from the desert area.

Left-hander Bailey Gill, from Lindrick, produced five birdies in his last six holes to deny David Langley – the winner of Journey to Jordan No. 1 – a spot in next week’s Oman Open

On both occasions, the 2016 Welsh Open Youths Strokeplay Champion hit his chips stone dead.

“This is fantastic,” said Gill. “I have been waiting for some time now for this to happen.

“It did not happen in Cairo, but I am glad I could hang on and win here in Oman,” said Gill.

“Those two were tough shots on the last two holes. I hit a horrible tee shot on the 18th hole and there was a lot of pressure when David holed his putt for a birdie on the last.

“David really played great despite the poor start he had, especially on that back nine.

“I was disappointed last week, but I came here knowing I was playing solid.

“I have been playing good golf for some time now, just struggling to get everything together and I am glad I managed to do that.”

Langley bounce back after bad start

LANGLEY, who was looking for his second win of the season, was two-over par at the turn for the day.

But the Castle Royle ace, who was a member of the same Home Internationals team as Gill at Conwy GC, in 2018, went about his back nine in seven-under to finish second on 15-under.

The overnight leader started with a double bogey, but caught fire on the back nine, where he made a 20-footer eagle putt from the fringe on the 10th after nearly driving the green.

“I am gutted, but after that finish, if I had to lose to someone, I’d rather it be Bailey,” said the 25-year-old, also playing his first full season as a professional.

“I was rooming with him last week in Cairo and I know how upset he was after the finish there – credit to him for getting it done.

“I hit a perfect tee shot on the first and made a poor swing with my second. Obviously, the adrenaline was pumping a bit.

“That double affected me on the fourth hole, which is a par-five and I could not make a birdie there.

“Being two-over after four on an easier stretch was not ideal, but I stayed patient and went on a roll on the back nine.

“A win here would have possibly got me two European Tour starts so there was that pressure.

“Good to see Bailey getting the Oman spot and I am in a nice position to get into Morocco after this.”

Kirkhill’s Craig Ross finished third

Bailey Gill gets into the Oman Open at nearby Al Mouj next week as the Ghala Open while the leader at the halfway stage in the Journey to Jordan Order of Merit earns a spot in the Hassan Trophee II, in Morocco, in early June.

Ross, looking for his first win on the MENA Tour, made a superb par save on the 17^th.

But the EuroPro Tour winner paid the price for a wayward tee shot on the 18th to make a double bogey that dropped him down to 12-under and back into third place.

Ross collected a cheque for $6000 and moved up to sixth on the Journey to Jordan Order of Merit, after the first three events of the season.

Sam Locke – the 2017 Scottish Amateur Champion – was also in the hunt after reaching the turn in four-under. But his challenge faded as he came home in 39, making bogeys at the 12th, 14th and 16th.

•For final scores at the Ghala Open, click here.

Indian Arjun Gupta, who is based in Dubai, produced his best-ever MENA Tour finish

Gupta records best-ever MENA Tour finish

INDIA’S Dubai-based amateur Arjun Gupta recorded his best finish on the MENA Tour courtesy of a bogey-free closing round of 66.

He finished in fourth on 11-under, one ahead of Northamptonshire County’s Ben Jones – the runner-up in last year’s Amateur Championship, who closed with a 66 as well.

Jones was tied fifth alongside Kent’s Alfie Plant (71), Middlesex’s Pavan Sagoo (71) and Essex’s Curtis Knipes (68) along with Ireland’s Walker Cup player Paul McBride (66).

Gupta, who turns 16 in May, showed once again why he is considered one of the brightest prospects in the region as he notched his first top-five on the MENA Tour and came to within one shot of earning his first-ever Official World Golf Ranking points.

“I am happy with my finish. The whole week my short game and my putting was very good,” said Gupta.

“I could have probably driven the ball a bit better, but I can’t complain after such a finish,” added the Dubai-born pro, who is coached by Jamie McConnell at the Claude Harmon Performance Institute.

“I want to win the Amateur Journey to Jordan this year and this is a good step in that direction.

“I also want to win a tournament on the MENA Tour and this gives me confidence that I am close,” said Gupta.

•The MENA Tour moves to Bahrain for the fourth leg of the 2020 season at the Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open from February 24-26.

The post Bailey Gill claims his maiden MENA Tour win in Oman to earn European Tour start appeared first on Golf North.

Castle Royle’s David Langley leads the Ghala Open, in Oman, after a seven-under par 65 in the second round in Muscat. But there are five players just a shot behind with a round to go

WITH a spectacular slam-dunk eagle the highlight in his card of seven-under par 65, Castle Royle’s David Langley moved into contention for a possible second title in three weeks on the MENA Tour, in Oman.

The 25-year-old from Marlow, playing in his first full season as a professional, won the Tour’s season-opening Journey to Jordan No. 1 by four shots two weeks ago.

And the former England international will go into the final round of the $75,000 Ghala Open leading by one shot at 10-under par.

Langley, who was named in the provisional Walker Cup squad for the clash with the USA at Hoylake, did a fantastic job of front-running at Ayla Golf Club.

Langley started from the 10th and after a par on his first hole, he holed out his second shot from 84 yards on the par-four 11th – the ball disappearing after pitching right in the hole.

The only bogey of his round came soon after on the 14th hole, but after hitting 16 greens in regulation, he was never in any major trouble after that and also picked up shots on all four par-fives.

“It was a pretty good day,” said Langley, whose maiden win came within weeks of losing his father.

“When you start with an eagle like that, it’s always good,” added Langley.

“I flew it straight into the hole and I feel sorry because I damaged the cup a bit.

“Made a silly error on the 14^th, and missed a short birdie putt on the 17^th, but apart from that, it was solid golf,” said Langley, who moved up to No. 1187 in the world rankings after his win in Jordan.

“I feel confident. I am swinging it really well. I think I have gained strokes in driving every day this season on the MENA Tour and yesterday was probably the only round when I did not gain strokes in putting.

“I played so well in the final round in Egypt, but I guess I was trying too hard over there and shot just two-under when I had a very low one in me that day.

“A tied eighth finish is pretty good, but I learned a lot from that round, and from Jordan. So, hopefully, we can get the job done tomorrow.”

But with five players just one shot behind, including the 2017 Open Championship Silver medalist Alfie Plant (68), it will make for an exciting afternoon at Ghala Golf Club on Wednesday.

Kent’s Alfie Plant who was just one shot behind David Langley in the Ghala Open

Also at nine-under par were the English trio of Pavan Sagoo (67), from Middlesex, Wentworth’s Jake Ayres (68) and Lindrick’s Bailey Gill (67) plus Scotland’s Craig Ross (67), from Kirkhill Golf Club, a winner on the EuroPro Tour two years ago.

The resurgent Sagoo, from Ealing, was unfortunate to make a double bogey with a wayward tee shot coming in on the par-four seventh hole.

Another recent champion, Sebastien Gros was also lurking dangerously after a second straight 68 which left the Frenchman alone on eighth place at eight-under par.

Meanwhile overnight leader and fellow Frenchman Antoine Schwartz (71) was three behind as he attempts to win back-to-back.

Former Scottish Amateur Champion Sam Locke (70), the Silver Medallist as the low amateur at the 2018 Open, and Yorkshire’s in-form David Hague (68) were also three behind the leader at seven-under.

India’s Arjun Gupta was the leading amateur after the second round, courtesy a splendid 67 that took him up to tied 16th place, two ahead of Russian Ivan Striganov (74).

There was also a proud moment for Saudi golf as all three players in the field – professional Othman Almulla and amateurs Saud Al Sharif and Ali Alsakha – made the cut, which fell at two-over par.

The Ghala Open champion gets an added bonus in the form of a spot in next week’s $1.75 million Oman Open on the European Tour.

•For live scoring in the Ghala Open, in Oman, click here.

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