KORAT, Thailand: Lionel Weber will take a big lead — and a lot of confidence — into the final round of the Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen after carding a sparkling second round 67 at the Seve Ballesteros-designed course on Tuesday.
The Frenchman, who is chasing his first win on the MENA Tour, rattled in seven birdies, including five on the front nine, against two bogeys to reach 11-under for the tournament, a good four shots clear of England’s Luke Joy, who carded a bogey-free 68.
Switzerland’s Dubai-based amateur Michael Harradine stayed in the frame, sharing third with Thailand’s Pattaraphol Khanthacha on six under as Blake Snyder of the US occupied solo fifth a further a shot adrift, one ahead of Scotland’s James Byrne.
It was Webber who kept up his prime form to leave many known players in the shade with another solid effort.
“I feel my game is in great shape. Although I hear some players have lost many balls, I am still playing with the same lucky one. The course is pretty tricky and you need to shape the ball a lot — and I did that,” said the Frenchman, who finished in a tie for seventh at last week’s MahaSamutre Masters after hitting the front on the opening day.
“Also, you need to focus on every shot. It always feels good to be in Thailand as it’s a great place to play golf,” said Weber, who is attached to Banyan Golf Club.
Joy, a two-time winner on the MENA Tour, has given himself another shot at the title, keeping it clean in the second round.
“It’s a course where you have to be very patient. It’s quite fiddly. It goes from fairway to jungle and there is not much in-between. I actually lost my ball on Monday as we were playing in fading light after a thunderstorm forced suspension of play.
“I played quite steady today and going bogey-free always feels good. This is a course you do not want to overpower yourself. In fact, I have used my driver just three times,” said the talented Englishman.
Harradine, a 33-year-old Swiss national team representative, carded another three red numbers on Tuesday against just one bogey to extend his lead over his nearest challenger Rayhan Thomas in the amateur division.
Young prodigy Thomas, who is supported by the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, made the turn at two-under, but dropped four shots in a four-hole stretch from 11th before making gains on the 16th and 17th that left him in a tie for 14th at one-under — and four behind Harradine.
Elsewhere, last week’s winner Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand and defending champion Wolmer Murillo of Venezuela were tied for 10th on two-under, one behind a three-man group which included Czech Republic’s Cyril Suk, the winner of the 2014 Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open.
England’s Zane Scotland (10 over), Clarke Lutton of Scotland (eight over), Leo Lilja of Spain (11 over) and cricketer-turned-golfer Craig Kieswetter (14 over) were among the notables who missed the cut, made at six over 150.
An initiative of the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, the MENA Golf Tour was created in 2011 with the aim of developing golf in the region. It is affiliated to R&A, the worldwide golf governing body based in the home of golf, St. Andrews, and the Arab Golf Federation and enjoys the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status.
A guaranteed spot on the PGA Tour’s 2018 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational (for the MENA Tour champion), multiple European Tour starts, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Hassan II Trophy, Maybank Championship Malaysia, and the KLM Open, are some of the added incentives that await MENA Tour members, in addition to playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour, and exemptions into the Final Stage of the Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour Q-Schools.
Weber surges four clear at MENA Tour’s Mountain Creek Open
Weber surges four clear at MENA Tour’s Mountain Creek Open
