Tyler Hogarty, the 24-year-old South African, held his nerve to win the season-ending Mena Golf Tour Championship as England's Craig Hinton walked away with the coveted Order of Merit title yesterday.
First win for Hogarty
Hogarty closed with a five-under 67 to reach 12-under for the tournament at Muscat Hills, sealing his first win on the Mena Golf Tour two shots ahead of England’s Luke Joy, who staged a compelling fightback with a blistering back nine 30 en route to a course-record equalling 66. Sweden’s Per Barthfinished third on nine-under after carding final round 67.
Stick to game plan
“Obviously, I feel delighted to get over the line this time around after coming close to winning on so many occasions,” said Hogarty, who also received a cheque for US$18,000 (Dh66,112), making it the biggest payday of his professional career. “I played quite consistently during the week and stuck to my game plan, which was to take advantage of the par-5s and not to get frustrated.”
See more on the Mena Golf Tour Championship:
• Round 2: The perfect birthday present? Max Williams takes one shot lead into final round
• Round 1: England's Daniel Owen takes the initiative in Oman
Joy for Hinton
Joy, who made the turn at level par, reeled off six birdies, including four in a row from the 13th, to finish second, earning himself $12,000 to take his overall earnings for the season to $38,355. Hinton finished in a tie for 25th on two-under after a final round 69, but it was enough to land him the Order of Merit title with total earnings of $39,338.
Thomas tops amateurs
England’s Todd Clements returned a 68 to win the amateur division at seven-under, but it was Dubai-based teenager Rayhan Thomas who topped the Order of Merit standings with 329 points, well ahead of England’s Benjamin David (231 points).
Mena region
Morocco’s Ahmed Marjan won the Sheikh Maktoum Golf Foundation Award as the top professional in the Mena region while Saudi Arabia’s Othman Almulla took the honours in the region’s amateur division.
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