South African M G Keyser has eyes on the prize at this week’s MENA Tour’s Journey to Jordan Tour Championship. Picture by MENA TOUR

ESSEX’S James Allan will be looking to make up for the disappointment of missing out on the EuroPro Tour’s biggest prize by claiming the MENA Tour’s Journey to Jordan Tour Championship at Ayla Golf Course.

The top 60 players on the MENA Tour’s order of merit tee it up in Jordan’s Aqaba, on Tuesday, for the 54-hole shoot-out with the incentive of three starts in the European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic, in January, up for grabs.

Allan, who won his first MENA event at the Abu Dhabi Open, in early October, lost a play-off against Sweden’s European Tour veteran Mikael Lundberg, at the EuroPro Tour Championship, in Spain, at the end of that month.

It cost him a European Challenge Tour card as well as the first prize of £22,540 as he finished in 10th place on the Race to Desert Springs Order of Merit.

Left-hander Allan had to birdie the last two holes at Desert Springs to force the play-off having been the 36-hole leader.

But the 25-year-old – who won Gog Magog’s prestigious Lagonda Trophy four years ago – came up shy when Lundberg made an up-and-down par at the 18th on the third time of asking despite finding the greenside trap and Allan made a bogey five.

The Chelmsford GC member has already played in the Dubai Desert Classic twice as an amateur – having won the MENA’s Amateur Order of Merit in 2014 and 2015.

James Allan is currently ranked third on the Journey to Jordan, but faces a strong field – some with Challenge Tour experience – including South Africa’s M G Keyser, who already has a MENA Tour win to his name in 2019, and tops the Journey to Jordan after the penultimate event.

Only three professionals have a chance to be crowned the MENA Tour’s No. 1 – Keyser, Australian Daniel Gaunt and Allan.

Chelmsford’s James Allan, whose maiden MENA Tour win came at the Abu Dhabi Open, in October. Picture by MENA Tour

M G Keyser said: “It’s the same as any other week. I really can’t predict what others are going to do.

“I can only control myself. I have had a couple of good weeks on the Asian Tour before coming here and I played well in the practice round.

“So, just go out there, have fun, and hopefully, at the end of the day, I am still at the top,” added Keyser, who will win the Journey To Jordan by finishing solo second or better.

Apart from the honour of being called the No. 1 on the MENA Tour – sponsored by Arena – in both its professional and amateur categories, there is also the substantial winner’s cheque of $18,000 for the pros to be decided on Thursday evening – plus plenty of playing opportunities to aspire for.

The overall professional Journey to Jordan champion and runner-up, the leading player on the ‘Final Five’ Order of Merit and the Leading Amateur will earn their spot at the Dubai Desert Classic, at Emirates Golf Club, from January 23-26.

The No. 1 also receives invites to the European Tour’s Made in Denmark tournament, and the 2020 Diamond Cup – co-sanctioned by Japan Golf Tour Organization and the Asian Tour.

The overall runner-up will be invited to two leading Asian Tour events – the 2020 Bank BRI Indonesian Open and the season-ending Indonesian Masters (Dec 12-15).

The player finishing third in the overall Journey to Jordan will receive invites to two European Challenge Tour events.

The fourth-placed player gets two Asian Tour starts, while the fifth-placed player will be assured of a Challenge Tour invitation.

Keyser, winner of the Troon Series Dubai Open leads the Professional Journey To Jordan, having earned $44,361, while Burhill Golf Club’s Surrey based Australian Daniel Gaunt, is second on $36,474.

Greenkeeper Gaunt, making a comeback to competitive golf after giving up professional golf this year, won the Troon Series Al Zorah Open.

Former European Tour star Matthew Baldwin is third at $27,820, followed by James Allan on $27,037, and Frenchman Robin Roussell ($25,190).

But Baldwin and Roussell, who have recently finished their season on the Challenge Tour, have opted not to play this week, with the Frenchman heading to Leopard Creek for the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Colchester’s Benjamin David, who is in sixth place on the rankings, can secure some of those coveted Tour starts by winning the event and leap-frogging Baldwin.

Knipes copies Allan’s route to Dubai

bridge’s Curtis Knipes is aiming to repeat James Allan’s MENA Tour’s Amateur Order of Merit wins to earn a place at the Dubai Desert Classic, in January. Picture by MENA TOUR

ON the Amateur Journey To Jordan rankings, Essex’s Curtis Knipes is in pole position with 21,662 points, followed by 15-year-old Josh Hill with 19,705 pts.

Hill generated worldwide headlines when he became the youngest player ever to win an Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) event last month at the Al Ain Open.

Knipes, who has a lead of 1,957 points over Hill, said: “It would be nice to win the Journey To Jordan and play the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

“I felt that the Open Championship at Royal Portrush was a bit of a wasted opportunity, so it would be nice to test myself again,” said the Abridge GC member, who came through Regional and Final Qualifying to earn a sport at the first Open held in Northern Ireland in 58 years.

“You never know what can happen if I play well there,” added Knipes, who was the 2018 England County Champion of Champions.

“Having said that, I am just trying to compete against the pros as I have done in every other tournament this year. Try and focus on the winning score and see how well I can play.”

Fifth-ranked Arjun Gupta, from India, who has 4,342 points, also has an outside chance of getting his hands on the Amateur Journey To Jordan crown.

Hampshire’s Harry Ellis, who picked up two runners-up spots in October, was ineligbile for the Journey to Jordan, having not been a full MENA Tour member at the start of the season.

The 2017 Amateur Champion, who failed to reach the final stage of last week’s European Tour Qualifying School, in Spain, earned enough points to be sixth on the rankings.

The tournament starts Tuesday with Keyser, Gaunt and Allan forming the final group. They tee off at 11am local time.

•For live scoring from click here.

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Switzerland’s Marco Iten, who lost his European Challenge Tour card this month, made two eagles to lead the Ras Al Khaimah Open, on the MENA Tour, on Monday.

SWITZERLAND’S Marco Iten made a stunning debut on the MENA Tour as two eagles on the back nine of Tower Links Golf Club helped him soar to the top of the Ras Al Khaimah Open leaderboard on the opening day.

The 29-year-old, from Zurich, was playing on a special exemption – trying to get some match sharpness ahead of the second stage of next week’s European Tour Qualifying School, in Spain.

And he made the most of the opportunity, with a hot start, followed by a back nine of 30 thanks to his two eagles on his way to an eight-under par 64.

A shot behind the leader were Sweden’s Niclas Weiland and Scotland’s Scott Henry, who both shot 65 playing together in the second group in the morning.

The duo were later joined by EuroPro Tour regular Joshua Grenville-Wood, who holed out from 139 yards to eagle the par-four 15^th.

Australia’s Daniel Gaunt – hoping to make a big move in the Journey To Jordan where the Surrey-based Burhill GC pro is currently second behind leader MG Keyser, from South Africa – opened with a 67 in the United Arab Emirates.

England junior Josh Hill, who created worldwide headlines last week by becoming the youngest winner of an Official World Golf Ranking event, struggled on the greens.

The Dubai-based amateur came home in 78 after missing more than half a dozen par putts from inside the six-eight feet range, emphasising the highs and lows of the game.

Wentworth’s Harry Ellis, who finished second in the last two MENA Tour events to jump into contention on the Journey to Jordan, had to settle for a 69, which left the Hampshire double English and British Amateur Champion five shots behind Iten and down in 15th spot.

Iten started in bright fashion, hitting it to six feet on the first two par fours. Another gain on the par-five fifth was erased by his only bogey of the day on the eighth to make the turn in two-under.

On the back nine, Iten eagled the 13^th when he smashed a three-wood downwind from 290 yards to 20 feet. And on the 18^th he converted a 15-footer, having also made birdies on the 10^th and 15^th.

Iten said: “It was a good day. I got off to a fast start and managed to carry that momentum on to the back nine.=

“I was able to hit both the par-fives in two and make my putts,” added Iten, who lost his card on the European Challenge Tour this year.

“It definitely is a great confidence booster ahead of the second stage of the Q-School next week.

“I can do with a few tournament rounds ahead of that and was looking for a place to play and some of my friends told me how good the MENA Tour is.

“I am thankful for the opportunity and hopefully, we can take the momentum from this round to the next two days.”

Henry, who won Scottish Men’s and Boys’ Strokeplay double as an amateur, was bogey-free in his 65, while Weiland made one bogey.

“It’s always easier when a guy in the group is making all the putts like Niclas did,” said the 32-year-old, who married Scottish LET player Kylie Walker two years and competed against his wife in the Jordan Mixed Open, back in April.

We both played well and I think we fed off each other quite nicely,” said Scotsman Henry, another Challenge Tour regular, who is attached to Loch Lomond’s The Carrick GC.

•To follow scores on the 54-hole Ras Al Khaimah Open click here.

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England junior international Robin Williams on his way to a record-equalling eigh- shot victory against the pro’s in the Journey to Jordan 2, at Ayla Golf Club. Picture by MENA TOUR

ENGLAND junior international Robin “Tiger” Williams equalled the biggest-ever margin of victory on the MENA Tour – winning by eight shots in Jordan this week.

The 18-year-old from Peterborough Milton Golf Club, who has been touted as England’s next world star, produced a grandstand finish to win the sixth leg of the Dubai-based Tour, which can provide invites into some of the European and Asian Tours’ biggest events.

Williams birdied his final five holes to win the $100,000 Journey To Jordan-2 tournament, at Ayla Golf Club, in Aqaba, Jordan.

In the sixth leg of the 2019 season of the MENA Tour by Williams shot a final-round six-under par 66 to finish on 16-under for the 54-hole event.

That was eight better than the second-placed Jack Floydd, another amateur from Sussex.

Ranked 100th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), Williams rewrote several records.

The England Boys cap, who was part of the winning Home Internationals team in August, became the third amateur champion in the history of the MENA Tour.

Williams was also the 20th player to lead wire-to-wire. His eight-shot win was the biggest margin of victory in a 54-hole tournament, matching the previous mark set by Matthew Baldwin, also at Ayla Golf Club in the Journey To Jordan-1.

Williams, who played in the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup, made a birdie-birdie start and his lead was never threatened.

Despite making bogeys on the sixth and 13th holes, he was one-under par with a birdie on the par-three 12th hole.

The bogey on the par-five 13th triggered the birdie run which saw the South Africa-born player pick up shots in each of the final five holes.

Williams first became involved in the England Golf regional set-up as a 12-year-old.

As well as helping England win the Boys’ Home Internationals for the fourth year in a row at Ashburnham GC, he also played for his country at the European Boys’ Team Championships.

Williams also competed at the first stage of the European Tour Qualifying School in September, and a final round 66 at Stoke-by-Nayland GC helped him finish fourth to qualify for November’s second stage.

Floydd, a member at Haywards Heath GC, shot a flawless 67 to finish ahead of  Burhill’s leading professionals Australia’s Daniel Gaunt (70) and South African MG Keyser (69).

The pair have both been winners in the 2019 season on the MENA Tour, and split the combined prize money for the first two places, because of Williams and Floydd’s amateur status.

Essex’s Curtis Knipes (70) completed a fantastic day for the amateurs as he finished tied fifth at six-under alongside Surrey’s Zane Scotland (67) – the MENA Tour’s most successful player, Chile’s Matias Calderon (66) and England’s Benjamin David (70).

You can see the final leaderboard by clicking here.

Another of England’s young stars gaining experience on the MENA Tour is Josh Hill, who is based in Dubai, and has been named in the England Boys team for 2020.

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