Qatar Classic to debut on MENA Tour

By Sports Reporter/Doha The inaugural Qatar Classic will be launched in Doha next week as part of the MENA Golf Tour’s ambitious drive to expand the base of golf in the vibrant Gulf state and across the region. Sanctioned by the Qatar Golf Association, the tournament will be held at the Doha Golf Club, home to the European Tour’s Commercial Bank Qatar Open, from October 27 to 30, underscoring the growing strength of the tour. Boasting a prize fund of $50,000, the newest showpiece – the eighth stop on the tour schedule this year – will see a quality field battle it for honours as the race to the Order of Merit titles approaches its business end.The tour, which came into being in 2011, has already grown exponentially, expanding its schedule from four events on its schedule in the inaugural year to 10 till date, covering a vast expanse of the MENA region that includes new stops this year in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar besides the UAE. The primary aim of the tour is to provide emerging players, especially from the region, a platform to play against a competent international field. Of particular significance is the participation of players, both amateurs and professionals, from the region, especially Morocco, and that has put Arab talent on centre-stage. Previously, they were competing in regional events, but this tour, in simple words, has ignited their desire to succeed, which is paramount to producing a future generation of champions. Guaranteed spots in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic for the top three professionals and the leading amateur on their respective orders of merit are the added incentive besides the attractive prize money for players. Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour, will be briefing newsmen at the Doha Golf Club on Sunday at 12 noon about the aims and objectives of the tour.The inaugural season in 2011 saw Zane Scotland, Ross Canavan, Peter Richardson and Jake Shepherd – all from England – winning the events, held in the UAE. Shepherd emerged the MENA Tour champion with Morocco’s Ahmed Marjan taking the honours in the amateur division. The 2012 edition saw six events, including one in Saudi Arabia, being played with Zane Scotland, Ross McGowan (England), Mohammed Munir (Pakistan), Shafiq Masih (Pakistan), Stephen Dodd (Wales) and William Harrold winning one event each. Dodd, a three-time winner on the European Tour, walked away the MENA Tour champion title while Max Williams reigned supreme in the amateur division.Seven events have already been played on this season’s tour with Zane Scotland winning four times and Stephen Dodd twice while Tommy Mou (US) and Craig Hilton (England) took one each.Morocco, Qatar and Oman featured for the first time on the 2013 schedule which gave the tour truly a regional flavour. The fact that players from over 30 countries compete on the tour events shows the tour has a global appeal. If the tour events provide players, especially from the MENA region, an opportunity to hone their skills against a top-class field, they also provide some professionals a perfect platform to fine tune their game ahead of Qualifying Schools in Europe and Asian, in particular. A superb initiative by the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, the MENA Golf Tour is supported by Omega and Mercedes-Benz. It is affiliated to the Arab Golf Federation and the R&A - golf’s governing body -- and boasts a combined prize fund of $US 525,000, including $US 75,000 for the Tour Championship.