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Zane Scotland held his nerve to beat Joshua White in a playoff and win the GOLF CITIZEN Masters Al Ain for his back-to-back victory on the MENA Golf Tour on Wednesday.
Starting the day a good four shots off the pace, the Englishman staged a stunning charge up the leaderboard and sealed the victory by sinking a six-foot birdie putt at the first extra hole, the par-5, 18th where his compatriot and good friend missed his birdie attempt from 20 feet and had to settle for par.
Riding on an eagle on the par-5, third, Scotland closed with five-under 66, the day’s best score, to finish at 14 under in regulation and that meant White needed a birdie on the final hole which he duly scored with a nice chip to about four feet from the cup to extend the proceedings.
Scotland, who won the last week’s Ghala Open in Muscat by three shots, was off to a great start despite windy conditions and made the turn at three under. The 32-year-old Englishman dropped shots on the 11th and 13th, but responded well, reeling off three birdies in his last five holes to finish with a flourish.
“It wasn’t easy out there because of the wind, but I had good start when I eagled the third and birdied the fourth. That kind of put me in the mix,” said Scotland after receiving the winner’s trophy from Mohamed Rashid Al Nasseri, general manager of Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club. Chris Turlik, the tournament director, was also present.
“When I birdied the 16th, I knew I had a chance to win if I stayed focused on the job. In the end I am happy to get the job done today,” said Scotland, who has now won eight titles on the MENA Golf Tour since its inception in 2011.
Overnight leader White had no regret losing to a better player on the day. “I did not lose the tournament, Zane has won it. The course conditions were quite tricky, but the way Zane played just showed his class and experience,” said White, who had opened with a course recording breaking 62.
Spain’s Jose Bondia Gil returned a final round 70 to finish in solo third at 13 under, two ahead of England Daniel Owen and three off Scotland’s Tom Buchanan, who is also the head pro at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club.
Peter Badawy of Lebanon maintained his dominance in the MENA Division for the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation Award, finishing on top at nine under with Morocco’s Mehdi Saissi taking the honours in the amateur division.
“I needed a strong finish to make to it the Tour Championship. I am glad it has happened,” said Badawy, who finished sixth overall. “It’s a pretty well run tour and if I were running it, I would have been pretty excited,” he said.
The MENA Golf Tour will be back at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club next week for the season-ending Tour championship which be played from November 2 to 4.
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