Emirati golfer Ahmed Al Musharrekh charged into a share of the lead yesterday at the Mena Tour's Ras Al Khaimah Classic with a second-round 67.
The only golf professional from the UAE, who opened with a 71 on Monday, reeled off seven birdies in his five-under second round at the Tower Links Golf Club. Only a double-bogey on the sixth hole prevented him from taking the solo lead as he joined Spain's Tony Ferrer, Peter Stojanovski (Macedonia) and Abdulrahman Sihag (Kenya) on six-under par going into today's final round.
Sharjah-based Al Musharrekh, 24, said of his round: “I felt at peace with myself out there. Every part of my game fell into place. Take that double-bogey away when I came up short from 100 yards and failed to get up and down, I played really well.”
As to how he will approach trying to win the tournament today, he said: "I try to be mentally tough in any situation on the course, and that's the key to an overall improvement in my game. There are plenty of scoring opportunities there and if I can hole some putts, I think I stand a good chance of going the distance. But you never know what tomorrow holds."
One of his rivals is Stojanovski, 19, who hit his second successive 69, and the teenager said his consistent form gives him a chance of coming out on top today.
“I am striking the ball really well, especially off the tee, and creating good scoring opportunities out there,” he said. “The good thing is that I am able to convert these chances.”
Lurking ominously just a shot off the lead is the Moroccan duo of Faycal Serghini and Ahmed Marjane, who shared fifth place with Cennydd Mills (Wales), Craig Hinton (England) and Scotsman Daniel Kay, who is also the highest-placed amateur in the field going into the final day, with five shots covering the top 28 players.
Serghini said: “It was a very good day at work, I played solid golf. It was nice to finish with an eagle on the 18th.”
Defending champion Zane Scotland of England settled for back-to-back 72s to move into a tie for 29th, while his countrymen John Singleton, who returned a 75 for a 36-hole total of three over, missed the cut made at two over, the lowest in the history of the Mena Tour.
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