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Abdulla and Ahmed make steady progress

Abdulla carded back-to-back scores of 75 to tie for the ninth place on a total of 150 while his younger brother Ahmed, who featured in the recent Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on a special invitation, had rounds of 75 and 73 to finish tied fourth on a 36-hole total of 148, nine shots behind professional Ross Bain, the winner of the NBAD Men’s Open.

With this creditable showing in Abu Dhabi, Abdulla has moved to the second place in the EGF Order of Merit with a tally of 127.50 points, still well behind Miki Mirza who continued to maintain his position at the top of the table with almost unbeatable 159.25 points. Ahmed, who has shown tremendous improvement in his game this season, is placed fifth on the OOM table with 104 points. The talented youngster could well finish among the top three if he produces another good finish at the Montgomerie Open when the season’s last event on the Order of Merit gets under way on April 9 and 10.

With Mirza, who recently qualified to play in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, almost assured of the Order of Merit title, the race for the second and third places could witness a tight finish among the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club golfers who, at present, are occupying all the top five places. Seasoned Vikram Judge and Paul King are the other two players in contention for the second and third places.

King, at present, is in third with a tally of 115.25 points, narrowly ahead of fourth-placed Judge. Top UAE national golfer Khalid Yousuf is the only Emirates Golf Club player who could prevent the DCGYC golfer from running away with all the top five places.

Khalid, who has produced some impressive performances in the regional circuit, is placed sixth on 91.50 points, going into the final event on the EGF Order of Merit.

“It’s quite encouraging to see UAE national golfers make their mark in the Order of Merit events,” said Saeed Albudoor, general manager of the Emirates Golf Federation. “Like in previous years, all Order of Merit events this season produced some intense battle in the sun. And this amply reflects the rising standards of the game in our country.

“I thank all the clubs and the players for making the Order of Merit events a great success.”