Craig Hinton backs quick start with second solid round

Craig Hinton finished with a thee-under 69 on Tuesday to move to seven under overall and a three-shot lead over Welsh veteran Stephen Dodd and Scotland’s Clarke Lutton in the Mena Tour Abu Dhabi Golf Citizen Open.

ABU DHABI // Craig Hinton finished with a thee-under 69 on Tuesday to solidify his position heading into the final round of the Mena Tour's Abu Dhabi Golf Citizen Open. One stroke clear after the first round, the Englishman moved to seven under overall, good for a three-shot lead over Welsh veteran Stephen Dodd and Scotland's Clarke Lutton.

“It feels nice to be in this position going into the final round, but still you have to play your best golf since there are many quality players in the field,” said Hinton, who is preparing for the second stage of the European Tour Qualifying School next month. He managed five birdies and will attempt to claim his first Mena win, in wire-to-wire fashion, no less.

“It was kind of an up-and-down round, but I managed to hole some key putts and that was the key,” said Hinton, 25, an Oxfordshire native.

Dodd, who won a Mena event in Morocco this spring and is third on the Order of Merit, equalled the day’s low score with a 68.

England’s Matthew Turner matched Dodd and jumped into a tie for the fourth with countryman Stuart Archibald.

England’s James Allan added a 72 to his opening 74 to take a one-shot lead in the amateur division over Morocco’s Mustapha El Maouas. Yassine Touhami, also of Morocco, is two shots back.

Lutton was five under after the 13th, but dropped a couple of shots coming down stretch.

“I am really pleased with his overall efforts,” Lutton said.

Order of Merit leader Zane Scotland shot 71, but stands 10 shots back in joint 22nd. The Englishman has won four of the six Mena events contested this year, but played the last six holes of his first round in six over to derail his chances of winning the Abu Dhabi title for the second time in three years.

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