An Abu Dhabi schoolgirl has underlined her position as the No 1 female golfer in the UAE by winning the Emirates Golf Federation's Ladies Order of Merit titles in both gross and net divisions.
Sana Tufail had a staggering run of 10 successive victories in the 11 tournaments that count towards the Order of Merit to finish with a total of 324 points, well ahead of Kavita Sehmi of Emirates Golf Club, who finished second with 229 points.
Anastasia Bakal of EGF settled for Third
Tufail, the British School Al Khubairat pupil, also dominated the net division, winning the title with 183.5 points, ahead of Bakal (174 points).
Tufail, who represents Yas Links, last year became the youngest player to take part in the Dubai Ladies Masters when, as a 15 year old, she was given a sponsor's invitation to compete against the likes of Laura Davies and Michelle Wie.
That was the highlight of a season which started with the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club Ladies Open and ended with the Emirates Golf Club Ladies Open at the weekend.
In the final event she opened up with a one-under par 72 on the Faldo course and backed that up with an equally as impressive 71 over the Majlis course to win by 12 shots.
Meanwhile the Mena Golf Tour is being heralded as the ideal vehicle to help the region's players, including the UAE, are to realise their ambitions of competing on the bigger stage, especially the Asian Games or even the 2016 Olympics where the sport is making a comeback after a 112 year absence. The tour, now in its second year, has assumed a special significance with the UAE National Olympic Committee officially endorsing golf in its portfolio of sports, thus clearing the way for the country's leading players to start dreaming about the "biggest moments of their careers", said said Mohamed Juma Buamaim, the Mena Tour chairman.
This year's Tour is scheduled to tee off in September and will have a true regional flavour with stops in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and possibly Morocco.
With more tournaments and more prize money on offer, the Tour is expected to attract a strong field with players who have featured on the Challenge Tour and Asian Tour events adding to its strength.
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