Ryan Lumsden’s win on the MENA Tour came in just his third start at the Journey to Jordan No. 2 at Greg Norman’s Ayla Golf Club

SCOTLAND’S Ryan Lumsden showed just why he is considered one of the finest emerging talents in the game as he overcame a last-hole hiccup to earn his first professional win.

He claimed first prize of $13,500 after winning the Journey to Jordan No. 2 in just his third start on the MENA Tour.

Lumsden first win in an Official World Golf Ranking event was by one shot over Essex’s equally-promising Curtis Knipes.

London-based Lumsden made a double-bogey six on the tough 18^th hole at the Greg Norman-designed Ayla Golf Club, on Wednesday.

But the Royal Wimbledon GC man, who went to Wellington College, near Reading, before heading to the States for four years on a golf scholarship in Chicago, had done enough to post a two-under par final round of 70.

That took his tally to eight-under for the tournament – one better than Knipes, who closed with a 68 to post seven-under.

“Don’t ask me about the 18th, but I am delighted to get the win,” said Lumsden, who had a two-shot lead to sleep on before third round.

“I felt really good about my game the whole day. Got off to a good start and was four-under through six holes.

I then made great putts that barely missed on the next two holes. On the ninth, I hit a wonderful drive and had just about 200 yards.

“But it was at the bottom of a divot and I could not risk the water on the left so had to lay up and the birdie putt lipped out.

“Went through a little bit of a rough patch on the back nine, but I was able to make some good swings after that.

“I will think back about the 18^th hole and process what I did wrong there – but very happy to get the job done and hopefully, we can carry it on from here.

“There wasn’t one defining or key moment today. The par save on the 15^th was great, but so was the up-and-down for birdie on the 17th. I just played solid golf throughout.”

The Northwestern University star, who will start in the AT&T Byron Nelson Classic, on the PGA Tour, in May – after winning the Byron Nelson Award while a US collegiate golfer in 2019 – was fast out of the blocks.

The Chicago university graduate made birdies on the first, fourth, fifth and sixth holes. He then missed birdie chances on the seventh, eight and ninth holes to make the turn at four-under.

That was three shots clear of Somerset’s Walker Cup player Tom Sloman who had been two behind going into the last round.

Lumsden’s first bogey of the day came from the greenside bunker on the par-three 12^th hole.

And he was lucky not to get wet on the short 13^th when he hooked his tee shot way off the mark.

Lumsden made a crucial par save from 20 feet on the 15th before a clutch birdie from the bunker on the penultimate hole gave him the necessary cushion to go down the 18th – with Knipes already in the clubhouse on seven-under.

Ryan Lumsden found the fairway bunker on the last – took three shots to get to the green – and three-putted for a six and the victory.

•To see the final results at Ayla Golf Club, click here.

Ryan Lumsden (right) celebrates his victory in the Journey to Jordan No. 2

Knipes knows his time will come

NINETEEN-year-old Knipes, who turned professional at the start of the year like Ryan Lumsden, recorded his best-ever finish on the MENA Tour.

His 68 included just one bogey, which came on the fifth when he chunked a wedge shot from the middle of the fairway.

But that was the only mistake made by the Chelmsford GC member who was MENA’S leading amateur on the Journey to Jordan Order of Merit in 2019.

“I played pretty well today,” said Knipes, who was the English Champion of Champions in 2018 – a title won by Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood and Sandy Lyle in the past.

Knipes, who qualifed to play in last year’s Open at Royal Portrush, added: “The conditions were very fair and I did have a number in mind for the final round.

“I wanted to get to 10-under par – so a 65. That was not to be, but I am very happy with the runner-up finish,” said Knipes, a two-time Essex Amateur Champion.

“Very happy with the way I have started as a professional. I had four top-10s in five starts and even though I felt I let go a couple of chances to win, I know my time will come. I just have to be patient.”

There was a five-way tie for the third place with Sweden’s Ake Nilsson (69) reaching six-under alongside Hertfordshire’s Jamie Rutherford (65), Gloucestershire’s Mitch Waite (68), Sloman (70) and Essex’s Benjamin David (70).

Chelmsford Golf Club’s Curtis Knipes was second – his best-ever MENA Tour finish

Langley earns Trophee Hassan II start

REWARD: David Langley

CASTLE Royle’s David Langley secured a start at the European Tour’s Trophee Hassan II by topping the Journey to Jordan money list at the halfway stage.

The winner of the first event of the season at the same Ayla Golf Club, shot a 70 in the final round to finish tied 35th on his return to Aqaba.

Yorkshire’s David Hague, the only other player who could have overtaken Langley in Jordan this week, was tied 30th.

The winner of last week’s Bahrain Open, from Malton & Norton Golf Club, could not surmount the difference in earnings between the two rookie winners.

However, the star of the day was the 23-year-old Lumsden, who is expected to move to inside the top-1000 on the Official World Golf Rankings with his triumph.

•To see the Journey to Jordan Order of Merit, click here.

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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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Welshman Rhys Davies is back in action on the European Challenge Tour in Morocco, after almost a year out spending time with his baby son. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

RHYS Davies is set to make his European Challenge Tour return at this week’s Lalla Aïcha Challenge Tour almost a year after stepping away from the game to spend more time with his young family.

The Welshman will return to action at the scene of his 2010 European Tour triumph, Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Morocco, where he captured the Trophée Hassan II title in spectacular fashion.

Seven years ago he closed with a seven-under par 66 to claim a two-shot victory over South African Louis Oosthuizen, who went on to claim the Claret Jug in The Open, at St Andrews that summer.

Four-time Challenge Tour winner Davies, who rose to 44th in the Official World Golf Ranking in his maiden season on the European Tour, returns to action for the first time since last November with a new mindset after a year spent enjoying time with his 16-month-old son.

“I needed a break,” said Davies. “Golf wise I was a little bit frazzled but also, I’ve got a young son at home, who I’ve really enjoyed spending time with over the last year or so – helping out as much as I can and just being a part of his early life.

“I’ve found it incredibly refreshing and I’ve just been really happy to spend that precious time with him,” added Davies, who was invited to be part of Colin Montgomerie’s backroom team at the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, as a rising star of European golf.

Rhys added: “I’ve played a couple of competition rounds at my golf club and played a small tournament a few weeks back where my golf was certainly quite mixed.

“It’s obviously going to be a very different challenge this week. It’s a strong golf course and it might take a while to get back into that slightly different and pressured environment.

“It’s going to be more intense than what I’ve been used to as of late but I’m looking forward to that challenge.

“I really don’t know what is going to happen, but I know I’m ready now to give it my best and to go out there and see how low I can go.”

Renowned for his exceptional short game, Davies was once described by Luke Donald as the “best putter in the world.”

He has twice graduated from the Challenge Tour, most recently in 2015.

However, it is in Morocco where he has achieved his best results, finishing runner-up at the Trophée Hassan II in 2011 – a year after winning in Rabat.

The Challenge Tour returns to Morocco this week for the first time in almost a decade, with the tournament coming at a pivotal time on the Road to Mallorca, with just four events remaining before the season-ending Challenge Tour Grand Final.

While Davies triumphed on the Red Course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, which plays annual host to the European Tour, the Challenge Tour players will be faced with a new challenge this week when they tackle the equally testing Blue Course.

Davies will begin his first round at 8.20am local time alongside Austrian Martin Wiegele and England’s Paul Maddy, with day one getting under way in Rabat at 8am.

For live scores click here.

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