Worldwide Golf

JOEL Neale retained the Emirates Golf Federation’s Order of Merit title after the talented youngster posted a strong finish in the BMW Men’s Open held at The Montgomerie Dubai.

Neale, who plays off a plus one handicap, carded solid rounds of 73 and 70 to finish tied second on a gross total of 143, just one shot behind the winner Pontes Fredriksson in the seventh and the final round of the Gulf News-sponsored Order of Merit.

With this creditable second-place finish the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club star took his points tally to 122.25 which was good enough to beat his nearest challenger Matthew Turner of Emirates Golf Club by 5.25 points. Khalid Yousuf, who led the Order of Merit after the penultimate round – the NBAD Men’s Open – had to settle for third place on 113 points.

Khalid had a good chance of winning the prestigious Order of Merit, but couldn’t feature in the final event because of the GCC Championship in Kuwait where he played a key role in guiding the UAE team to a fantastic second-place finish.

In his absence it was left to Neale and Turner to battle it out for the championship title. With just three points separating the two going into the final round, both produced some solid golf in the final round to provide a fitting climax to the Order of Merit race.

Neale held on to his slender lead, finishing just one point ahead of Turner, who settled for tied fourth on a gross144. , In the end, it was a strange coincidence that Neale, Turner and Yousuf finished the Order of Merit race in the same order as they did last year.

The Musharrekh brothers – Ahmed and Abdulla – were in with a chance to sneak into the top ten, but had to skip the final event as they joined Khalid Yousuf in the UAE team for the GCC Championship.

Saeed Albudoor, general manager of the Emirates Golf Federation, thanked the players, the sponsors and the clubs for making the Order of Merit a great success. “All the seven events produced some good scores and that gives an indication of the rising standards of the game in the UAE,” he said. “There is no dearth of talent in the country and it showed in the performance of the players during the season. We, at the Emirates Golf Federation, are committed to creating more playing opportunities for golfers, both national and expatriates, to hone their skills.

“We are also working on new initiatives to make the Order of Merit events even more appealing to the players."

Neale is pictured with Saeed Al Budoor, General Manager of the Emirates Golf Federation.