Italy’s Francesco Laporta leads the Road to Mallorca after taking the first round lead in the Challenge Tour Grand Final with a three-under par 68. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FRANCESCO Laporta began the Challenge Tour Grand Final occupying the second position on the Road to Mallorca rankings… but now the Italian is projected to become Challenge Tour No. 1 by Sunday, after taking the first-round lead.

Laporta carded five birdies against only two bogeys to sign for a three -under par 68, which was one shot better than his nearest rivals on the difficult Club de Golf Alcanada layout.

“It was a tough round today,” said Laporta. “The wind came up this morning, then went down and then it came up again during the last couple of holes.

“I played solid and only missed a couple of putts on the first two holes, but after that the putter worked better.

“I’m pretty happy about my round and we’ll just have to see what happens in the next few days.

“The No. 1 spot is in my mind, for sure. I came here to fight for the first spot and I will fight all week for that.

“It’s a good start and hopefully I have another one tomorrow.”

Laporta’s strong start continues an impressive run of form for the 29-year-old, who recently finished as the low-Italian at the European Tour’s Italian Open, a Rolex Series event, before winning the Hainan Open the following week.

Laporta holds a one-stroke advantage over home-favourite Sebastian Garcia-Rodriguez and Welshman Rhys Enoch, who each carded rounds of 70.

Now the Challenge Tour Grand Final is under way, the projected Road to Mallorca rankings come into focus – with the leading 15 players on the season-long points race earning European Tour cards at the end of the week.

While Garcia-Rodriguez began the tournament positioned 13^th on the order of merit, Enoch teed it up outside of the coveted cut off in 25th.

But the winner of the D+D Real Slovakia Challenge in July, who currently sits in a two-way tie for second place, is now projected to climb inside the magic number – and finish the year in 13^th.

Enoch, who hailed from Cornwall, but now lives in Cardiff, said: “It was very tricky. I don’t think we realised how tricky it was going to be.

“I think the wind was quite calm earlier and I thought the scoring was going to be low.

“It’s just easy to drop shots, really, really easy. I did that really well today – keeping the bogeys off the card – with only one drop,” said a happy Enoch.

“So it was just about patience and missing in the right spots, especially with how sloped the greens are.

“The wind on the front nine was all over the place. I’m really pleased.

“There are plenty of different outcomes, but I’m focused on winning really.

“Second would probably be enough if I’m on my own, but then I’m relying on a lot of other people.

“I’ve just got to try and win because that takes care of it, so that’s my aim,” added Enoch, who became a father when Carter was born in August.

Oliver Farr, who came into the Grand Final holding the 15^th and final European Tour card, overcame a triple bogey and a double bogey to finish his round in a tie for 11^th place on one-over.

That is currently enough for the Welshman – who grew up playing golf at Kidderminster’s Cleobury Golf Club – to hold onto the final graduation spot, having lost his European Tour card in 2015 and 2018.

Farr, who is attached to Hereford’s Burghill GC, said: “There were two bad holes but 16 pretty good ones and looking at the scoring today, to only have two holes where I dropped shots today is pretty good.

“Obviously I dropped a lot of shots on those holes. It was a challenging day on the greens, but I felt like I handled them pretty well, and hopefully we can make amend for these errors tomorrow.

“Playing the practice round it was one of the first weeks where I haven’t been able to feel what a good score was,” said Farr, who played less events this season to spend more time with his family – after becoming a father for the second time in April, and following a bereavement in his family since.

“Sometimes you can sense what a good score is. People were asking me and I didn’t know. I thought the set-up was fair,” added 31-year-old Farr, winner of the Lalla Aicha Challenge Tour, in Morocco, in early October.

“There were some tough pins and that’s probably why the scoring is down, but I’m only a few shots behind and it’s early days yet, so hopefully I can push up.”

Challenge Tour Grand Final debutant Garcia-Rodriguez was happy to be playing on the Balearic island.

Sebastian said: “The golf course is amazing. The greens are very difficult.

“The key for me today was the second shot. My strategy on the tee box was to hit a lot of drivers, which set me up nicely.

“In general I’m so happy. It’s my first time playing in the Challenge Tour Grand Final and this start has made me so happy.

“I don’t feel any additional pressure. It’s the next tournament. It’s the same – the same balls, the same clubs, the same tees,” Garcia-Rodriguez added.

“The conditions are probably the best we’ve had the entire year in terms of difficulty. It’s so hard and it feels similar to the European Tour.

“My game plan has been the same for the entire year. At the start of this year I told myself I would just take it shot-by-shot.

“I played 10 tournaments on the Alps Tour at the start of the year after losing my Challenge Tour status two years ago, and this wasn’t even in my mind in January of this year.

“So for me I’m just so happy to be here.”

The second round of the Challenge Tour Grand Final begins on Friday at 7.30am GMT with Laporta, Garcia-Rodriguez and Enoch set to go at 10.05am.

•For live scoring at Club de Golf Alcanada click here.

The post Race to be Challenge Tour’s No. 1 hots up as Laporta hits the front in the Grand Final appeared first on Golf North.

Wiltshire’s Ben Stow believes a six-week break In July after an injury, has left him feeling fresher for the China leg of the European Challenge Tour. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

WILTSHIRE’S Ben Stow celebrated his birthday in style by setting a new course record of 64 at Foshan Golf Club to lead the Foshan Open by one stroke after the opening day.

The 28-year-old sits one shot ahead of Germany’s Alexander Knappe, who would have joined Stow as holder of the course record of eight-under par, if not for a closing bogey to leave him on seven-under.

Another six players share third place on six-under, including 2017 Champion Oliver Farr.

Stow, playing in the first group of the day off the 10th tee, bounced back from a double bogey on the 17th hole – his eighth – with a birdie to make the turn in two-under.

The 2013 Brabazon Trophy winner then notched five consecutive gains from the second to the sixth, which catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard.

And a closing birdie saw him beat the existing course record of 65, set by Wales’ Rhys Davies and Aussie Scott Arnold.

Stow, alongside playing partners Wil Besseling and Simon Hawkes, raced around Foshan Golf Club, with their front nine taking just one hour and 50 minutes and Stow spoke of how much he enjoyed the pace of play.

“It was great to play so quickly,” Stow said. “We played the front nine in one hour and 50 minutes, which in tournament golf is unheard-of,” revealed Stow, who is currently 26th on the Road to Mallorca.

“It was great. We were out first and with Wil and Simon – none of us are slow – we didn’t really rush. We just played when we were ready. It was really enjoyable actually.

“I played great and putted well so I’m really chuffed. I’ve been working really hard recently so it’s nice to get some results,” said Stow, who was a member at Rushmore GC, on the Hampshire-Wiltshire border, as a junior.

The 2011 Faldo Series UK winner would love a top 15 finish to the season to earn promotion to the European Tour and join former Wiltshire team-mate Jordan Smith.

Stow added: “I played really solid and I just hit one bad tee shot down 17. Where I left my approach shot left me with a very, very fast putt and I just missed it coming back.

“I knew I was playing well and on 18 the wind was down when we played it. So I managed to get it quite a long way up 18 and then I easily made the green in two – then it was a good two-putt.”

The 2018 Prague Golf Challenge winner missed a period of time earlier this year through injury, having also suffered a serious knee injury before his breakthrough win a year ago.

But despite the frustration of being side-lined at the time, Stow admits he is now reaping the benefits of the enforced mid-season break.

“Traditionally I haven’t played very well in China, but I had six weeks off this year with an injury in July, and right now, I think it’s a bit of a saving grace because I feel fresh and quite chilled out,” said Stow, who spent four years playing for Kentucky University’s Wildcats.

“In previous years I’ve always played quite a lot and then got here and felt quite tired. So maybe the moral of the story is take a month off in July.”

Joining Farr in a tie for third place on six-under is Australia’s Cory Crawford, Royal Liverpool’s Italian Challenge Open Eneos Motor Oil Champion Matthew Jordan, Finland’s Roope Kakko, Kent’s Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge winner Steven Tiley and Italy’s Aron Zemmer.

Rounding off the top 10 in a tie for ninth place on five-under is Portugal’s Ricardo Santos and China’s Liu Yanwei, who is currently the leading Chinese player.

•The second round of the Foshan Open begins at 6.55am local time on Friday, with leader Stow due off at 11.10am.

To follow live scoring click here.

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Robin Roussel aims to go one better than in the Hainan Open by winning the Foshan Open in China, in his quest to be crowned No. 1 on the European Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

ROBIN Roussel is taking inspiration from last year’s champion Victor Perez as he bids to move to the top of the Road to Mallorca with a strong performance at this week’s Foshan Open.

The Frenchman is currently in second place on the Road to Mallorca rankings following a runner-up finish at the Hainan Open last week.

Roussel will now go in search of his second win of the season in the event which offers the biggest prize fund, at Foshan Golf Club, from October 24-27.

His first European Challenge Tour victory came on home soil, at the Hauts de France Pas de Calais Golf Open in June, while Perez claimed the Alfred Dunhill Links – the first rookie winner at St Andrews, last month.

And after securing his European Tour playing privileges in Hainan, Roussel now has his eye on being crowned Road to Mallorca No. 1, a posiition currently occupied by Italian Francesco Laporta, the winner in Hainan.

Rouseel knows his form from 2019 could provide a vital platform for next season.

Robin said: “We have seen Victor Perez, Robert MacIntyre, Romain Langasque and some others, like Sebastian Soderberg, play well this year.

“It brings me a lot of confidence because it shows that everybody who jumped from Challenge Tour to the European Tour can perform straightaway.

“To win the Road to Mallorca would mean a lot because it obviously means you’re the one at the top at the end of the season.

“It means that you can perform in the biggest events of the season, which means a lot because it means you can be clutch in the right moments.

“The last three events are the three biggest so if you want to finish well in the rankings then you need to finish strongly in these events.

“I have been really looking forward to these last three because if you finish in the top five on the rankings, then you have to play well in these last three events.”

A year ago in Foshan, MacIntyre and Perez both holed very long putts on the 72nd hole – MacIntyre for eagle and Perez for birdie – to reach a play-off, which the Frenchman won to move up from outside the top 15 to second on the money list.

With a cheque for $70,000 available to this week’s winner there is everything to play for those who occupy the top 15 places, which are separated by 55,000 points.

Germany’s Alex Knappe could – depending on the finishing positions of other players – move from 89th on the Road to Mallorca to the cusp of the top 15 with a win in China so there is plenty to play for in the Foshan Open.

It represents a week which could transform a whole season.

Hampshire’s Richard Bland – the oldest player inside the top 15 who will earn their full European Tour card for 2020 at 46 years old – is currently in fifth place.

The Stoneham GC member won the Challenge Tour Grand Final in 2001, his only victory in 21 years on Tour.

Bland has had three runner-up places and a third this year, his most successful in six full seasons on the Challenge Tour, and is looking to earn promotion back to the European Tour for a fourth time.

Scotland’s Calum Hill – winner of the Made in Denmark and Euram Bank Open – is in fourth, while Lancashire’s Jack Senior, who finished first in the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland, in August, is sixth going into the Foshan Open.

All three have realistic ambitions of claiming the top spot.

That trio will be looking to close the gap on Laporta and Roussel this week, while other Home Nation players – Cormac Sharvin, from Northern Ireland, in eighth place, Royal Liverpool’s Matthew Jordan (10th), Scotland’s Conor Symes (13th), and Welshman Oliver Farr – the recent winner in Morocco – who occupies the crucial 15th spot, can all take a big step towards wrapping up their card for 2020.

Twenty-eight-year-old Roussel is experiencing the end-of-season ‘Chinese Swing’ for the first time and has been impressed thus far, particularly with the organisation of each event.

“I have enjoyed my time in China so far,” Roussel said. “Last week was amazing on Hainan Island and I just arrived here in Foshan on Monday.

“I played the course for the first time and it is a lovely course. I heard this event was so well-organised and I have witnessed it since I’ve been here. I’m enjoying it very much.”

This week offers players the final opportunity to book their place at the season-ending Challenge Tour Grand Final at Club de Golf Alcanada, Mallorca.

Only the top 45 players on the Road to Mallorca rankings at the conclusion of the Foshan Open will tee it up in the event, meaning the plethora of players currently outside that mark have it all to do this week to secure a spot in the field.

Somerset’s Laurie Canter occupies the crucial 45th place while Essex’s Todd Clements is currently ranked 46th on the Road to Mallorca.

Canadian Aaron Cockerill, who has three top 10 finishes in his last four starts, sits in 47th place.

On the bubble in the 50s are Lincolnshire’s David Coupland (53rd), former Amateur Champion Garrick Porteous (57th) Walton Heath’s David Boote (58th), and Kent’s Matt Ford (59th), who all need a good week to qualify for the season finale.

To see the current Road to Mallorca rankings click here.

The 2019 Foshan Open will begin at 6.55am local time tomorrow (Thursday), with Dutchman Wil Besseling, Simon Hawkes and Wiltshire Ben Stow getting the action under way from the 10th tee, while Roussel will begin his tournament at 7.45am from the first.

•For live scoring in Foshan click here.

The post Roussel eyes top spot on the Road to Mallorca but pack are closing at Foshan Open appeared first on Golf North.

Oliver Farr shot a superb 63 to win the Lalla Aïcha Challenge Tour at Morocco’s Royal Dar Es Salam Golf Club – the third win of his career. Picture by EUROPEAN TOUR

OLIVER Farr carded a scintillating nine-under par 63 in the final round to produce a stunning comeback and win his third European Challenge Tour title at Morocco’s Lalla Aïcha Challenge Tour.

The Welshman started the day four shots behind overnight leaders Jack Senior and Joel Sjöholm.

But Farr soon charged up the leaderboard with three consecutive birdies from the third hole, picking up two further shots on the seventh and eighth to reach the turn in just 31 strokes.

Looking to secure his first victory since the 2017 Foshan Open, the 31-year-old kept his foot firmly on the pedal, posting four further birdies over his back nine, including on the 18^th, to finish on 15 under.

That ensured he recorded a three-shot victory over Lancastrian Senior, who finished in second place at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.

It was an emotional win for Farr, who has played only 11 Challenge Tour events this season after a busy and difficult year away from the course.

As well as missing events to support his wife after the birth of their second child earlier in the year, he lost his grandmother as well as suffering a death on his partner’s side of the family.

All of which forced him to miss tournaments as he fought to regain his full Euorpean Tour playing privileges after losing his card in 2018.

“It’s been a hard year for me and my family, so to get this win is extra special not just for me but for everyone back home,” said Farr.

“If I’m honest, I didn’t really think about winning when I went to bed last night, so to come back on top today was brilliant,” added Farr, who is attached to Hereford’s Burghill Valley GC.

“To shoot nine-under par on any course is amazing. I left myself in some tricky places today, but my putter felt really good and I holed a couple of really nice ones along the way as well which always helps.

“It is my third victory now on the Challenge Tour and it’s always great to win no matter where you are on the rankings.

“I’ve only got three events left now so I’ve still got to play great and hopefully I can continue this form until the end of the season.

“I always feel like I can win tournaments but as the year goes on you start to question whether you can, so to get this win just feels great,” added Farr, who first played the game as a seven-year-old at Kidderminster’s Cleobury Golf Club, and played for Shropshire and Herefordshire as a junior.

With his win, Farr moves from 37th to 13th on the Road to Mallorca rankings as he eyes his third promotion onto the European Tour, following successful Challenge Tour campaigns in 2014 and 2017.

Senior settled for second place after a closing two-under 70, but it cemented his place in the all-important top 15 in the Road to Mallorca rankings.

The winner of the ISPS Handa World Invitational tournament in Northern Ireland, in August, moved up seven spots into fourth position.

The 2011 Walker Cup player finished one shot clear of 20-year-old Dane Oliver Hundebøll, who finished on 11-under after a stunning six-under 66 on Sunday to record the best result of his young career.

For full results from Lalla Aïcha Challenge Tour click here.

•The Challenge Tour now heads back to Europe for the Stone Irish Challenge from October 10-13, which marks the first of the final four events on the 2019 Road to Mallorca, in November, with a trip to China in between.

The post Farr wins Morocco’s Lalla Aïcha Challenge after superb 63 at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam appeared first on Golf North.

Oliver Farr is focused on trying to earn his Euroepan Tour card after missing a number of tournaments because of family issues this season. Picture by GETTY IMAGES.

DESPITE making nearly half as many appearances as his peers on the European Challenge Tour, Oliver Farr is relishing the opportunity to play this week at the KPMG Trophy, which starts today (Thursday).

The Welshman, who only has seven starts counting towards his goal of returning to the European Tour, has not been able to play as much as he hoped after a combination of joyful and difficult times away from the golf course.

“We’ve had a few issues at home,” said Farr, who sits 34th in the rankings going into this week’s tournament in Belgium.

“One was a really good issue in that we had our second child at the start of the year, so I missed a lot there.

“But we’ve also had a few losses more recently so I’ve been trying to support my wife as best I can through a tough time.

“It’s obviously limited my schedule, but I didn’t want to play in the circumstances.

“It’s a terrible time for my wife’s family and more recently my family. We lost my grandmother a couple weeks ago as well, so it’s been a really tough time in both sets of families.

“It’s not nice but it probably puts my golf into perspective. It’s not as important as it was a few years ago, especially with two children now.

“It’s important in the sense that I need it to earn money and pay the mortgage and stuff like that, but they’re more important to me than golf.”

Although it has been a rollercoaster off the course, the 31-year-old’s play on the golf course has been anything but.

He posted top five finishes at the Swiss Challenge and Italian Challenge Open Eneos Motor Oil, and comes into the KPMG Trophy on the back of consecutive top 15 showings in his two most recent starts – having not missed a cut all season.

Farr plans to play several more events this season but will still have to miss some more. He will, however, have the benefit of experience on his side, after graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2014 and again in 2017.

“I’ve actually played really nicely this year,” Farr said. “I’ve not played a whole lot, but when I’ve played, I’ve played nicely and I don’t feel like I’ve had my best weeks yet so far this year, which is sort of a good feeling to have in a sense.

“I feel comfortable out here having qualified for the European Tour a couple of times before, so the belief is there. I’ve got seven events left this season to do that, and hopefully my best golf is still to come.”

Another invaluable asset which Farr has on his side, is the guidance of his father Graham, who himself has made starts on the European Tour, and just last month teed it up in The Senior Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

“I call him my coach but he’s more of a mentor,” the two-time Challenge Tour winner said.

“He likes me to figure out things for myself. If something’s going wrong, he’ll ask me what I think first, rather than telling me.

“It’s more just trying to get me to understand my game a little bit better, and I’m understanding my swing and my feelings a bit better than I used to.”

Regardless of how Farr’s week transpires, and in spite of the difficult time his family has been through, he is committed to maintaining perspective and a good attitude.

“Having two boys is good fun, they’re actually coming to Portugal in two weeks so that should be a great week,” added the Welsh pro, who is attached to Hereford’s Burghill Valley Golf Club.

“There’s a lot of good, positive stuff in my life as well as some negative stuff this year, but the positive is what we’ll draw on at the minute.”

Farr begins his pursuit of the KPMG Trophy when he tees off at Millennium Golf’s 10th hole at 1.15pm local time, with the action beginning at 7.25am local time.

For live scoring click here

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Wellingboro Golf Club’s Meghan Maclaren in the third round of Jordan Mixed Open, at Ayla Golf Club. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

MEGHAN MacLaren could not produce her second win in a month – and more importantly this time against a field of men – as she lost out to Holland’s Daan Huizing in the ground-breaking Jordan Mixed Open, on Saturday.

Having been an outspoken critic of the disparities in prize money between men and women’s golf in the build-up to the event, the Wellingboro GC member was proud of her display as she missed out by a couple of shots.

Meghan, who led the unique 54-hole format tournament by two shots going into the last day, said: “I’m obviously pretty disappointed not to win this week, having been in such a good position.

“But it was still an honour to be here and represent women’s golf alongside two other great tours. It was pretty tight coming down the last few holes, so I think it was great entertainment for everybody watching.

“It was a great concept but none of us really knew how it would pan out. The way the scores panned out throughout the week showed that it absolutely can work with the right thought process and course set-up if people do the research.

“Female golfers have done ourselves proud this week and it’s been a great environment to be in with all three tours. It’s been an honour to be here and it was a great concept and one that I hope can catch on in the future.

“The research that went into it played out with the scores because it was pretty comparable across the three tours, so I’d like to see it happen more often. I think they did a great job considering that it was the first time that something has been done like this – and I think that’s a great sign for the future.”

“In some ways, it felt like just another tournament, trying to get the best score possible at the end of the week. It’s definitely interesting to have different golfers alongside us.

“There are things that the guys can do and we can’t but there are things that the girls do better than the men as well. It was definitely interesting and something that could happen more often.

“It’s not so much frustration as disappointment. It hurts, but that’s golf sometimes. Golf happened. I missed a couple of putts, which doesn’t help and hit a couple of bad shots at bad times.

“You can’t afford to do things like that. It can change so quickly and everyone who plays golf knows that.

“It hurts to not win, but I know, when I get home and think about it, I’ll be proud of what I’ve done this week and I hope that I’ve represented the LET and women’s golf in general as well as possible.

“It deserves a bit of a spotlight and if this kicks things up a bit, then I’m proud of what’s happened.”

Jordan Mixed Open declared a success by Higginbottom

Tournament director Simon Higginbottom believes the experiment of having a third of the field from the LET, the European Challenge Tour and the Staysure Seniors Tour, playing off different tees to match up their games, had been a total success.

He said: “When something has never been done before it is difficult to know how it will play out. Before the tournament began, we had the ability to analyse average stroke distances for all categories of players.

“But matching that to the course architecture and set up on this course, this week, to create the fairest possible playing field for all competitors, was our main challenge.

“We had incredible support from all of the players in the field, who allowed us to collect invaluable data from this week, which we can scrutinise in future weeks to get an even clearer picture of how this can be done again.”

The chairman of Ayla Golf Club, Khaled Masri, was also a happy man after the ground-breaking tournament.

He said: “We are really pleased with the great success the Jordan Mixed Open by Ayla has achieved.

“This first-of-its-kind international golf tournament has attracted many golf enthusiasts from around the globe, effectively placing Jordan on the map of major golf events internationally.

“We hope to maintain this growing trend and will continue to welcome new global and regional championships to our world-class golf course.”

•For the full results in the Jordan Mixed Open click here.

Dutchman Daan Huizing with the Jordan Mixed Open trophy. Picture by TRISTAN JONES

The post Meghan MacLaren disappointed to be overtaken in Jordan thriller appeared first on Golf North.

Challenge Tour winner Daan Huizing who held off Ladies European Tour star Meghan MacLaren to claim the first-ever Jordan Mixed Open. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

DAAN Huizing made golfing history by becoming the first player to win a full-field mixed professional tournament with his triumph at the Jordan Mixed Open.

The Dutchman began the final round at Ayla Golf Club two shots behind overnight leader Meghan MacLaren, who opened the world-first tournament with consecutive rounds of 65 to get to 14-under par.

MacLaren started the final day strong, carding two birdies on her first three holes, but Huizing was able to slowly chip away at the Englishwoman’s lead, and by the time the two golfers reached the 13th tee, they were deadlocked on 14 under par.

The stage was set for a never-before-seen battle down the stretch between a male and female golfer competing for the same first prize.

In the end, it was Huizing who came out on top as he converted three crucial birdies on the closing holes and signed for a four under par 68, which gave him a two-stroke victory.

The win was an emotional one for the 28-year-old, who admitted it was a tough off-season after he narrowly missed out on a European Tour card at last year’s Challenge Tour Grand Final.

“I’m buzzing. It’s a big moment for me. I’ve had a rough time at home recently so this is a really sweet way to prove to myself that I’ve got it. The belief in myself and the people around me, my team and my family, I’m really grateful for their support. I’m honoured. I think it’s an historic event.

The Dutchman who won twice in his first season on the Challenge Tour in 2013, said: “To be the inaugural winner — it’s a special moment. I think it’s a great initiative.

“It was great fun playing in a final group with a Challenge Tour player, a senior tour player and a lady player. It was a great battle.

“It’s a different vibe and very special to be the first winner and I hope it’s something that can be continued in the future.

“I went into the day with a pretty open mind and I knew it was going to take a low round, someone was going to shoot low today. I had a pretty rough start and lipped out a couple of putts for birdie and holed a couple of good ones for par on two and three.

“It wasn’t easy and I didn’t play great. I had a few loose ones to the right yesterday and today again, but I battled really well.

“Mentally I was in really good shape and that’s what got me through. I stuck to my processes, stayed patient and Meghan was playing really, really well.

“She holed a couple of big putts on the front nine but left the door open for me on 10 and 11 and I answered with two really good birdies on 12 and 13.

“The buzz and tension down the stretch was great. It was a fight and it wasn’t pretty at times, but it was a great experience and really valuable going forwards as well.

“There are a huge amount of positives that I can take from this,” added the player who claimed the presitigious Lytham and St Andrews Links trophies in his last season as an amateur in 2012, a rare feat in itself.

MacLaren finished the Jordan Mixed Open alone in second place — two shots clear of Martin Simonsen, who matched the Ayla Golf Club course record with a final round of 64, which moved him 17 places up the leaderboard and into third place.

Forty players from each of the European Challenge Tour, the Staysure Tour and the Ladies European Tour, plus three amateurs, made up the 123-player field and will forever be remembered as a game-changing tournament.

The final grouping comprised of one player from each of the three Tours, and of the 66 players that made the cut, 20 represented the Ladies European Tour, 21 were from the Staysure Tour and 25 were from the Challenge Tour.

In addition, the back nine battle for the win between MacLaren and Huizing created tense drama all the way to the end.

Players from all three Tours were represented in the top five. The best performer from the over-50s contingent was José Coceres of Argentina who finished in a tie for fourth place alongside Challenge Tour players Jack Senior and Oliver Farr.

Thorough research was performed by tournament officials before the event began.

Data on driving distance, approach shot distance, club selection and scoring was collected after each round, and will provide crucial findings to all three tours.

The low-amateur competitor, Emilie Paltrinieri of Italy, carded rounds of 70, 74, 73 to finish the tournament on one-over.

The post Huizing back in the winner’s circle in Jordan appeared first on Golf North.