Shiv Kapur heaps praise on Emirates Amateur Golf League's Mini Series

The inaugural Emirates Amateur Golf League (EAGL) Mini-Series event at Jumeirah Golf Estates proved a roaring success as the Worldwide Golf, sponsored Mena Golfers team, put in an imperious display to take top the honours with a clean sweep of victories over the Fire course.

The first of its kind series aims to give amateur golfers a taste of what it feels like to play in a professional Tour event and it was mission accomplished, with a hugely impressive set up that included live television coverage of all the action.

“It was a fantastic day and the set up at the event was phenomenal,” said Mena Golfers team captain Rick Bevan.

“It really did feel like a Tour event with TV towers on every hole, lots of media in attendance and just a very professional feel to proceedings. But there was also an emphasis on fun and entertainment with nice touches like walk on music for all the teams on the first tee which really set the tone for the day. The guys put in a wonderful performance and it’s great to be the first winners of an event that has a very big future.”

The Mena Golfers were up against the Asian Jumbos, captained by Dubai Eye’s Robbie Greenfield. They got off to a strong start in Match 2 with Deepak Jain beating Bayern Khan 3&1. All matches featured an additional ‘press match’ where the remaining holes were played out if the match finished before the 18th, with an additional point up for grabs for the winner. The pair halved their press match, meaning it was 2 points on the board.

In Match 7, Mena Golfers’ Ashok Kumar beat Rohit Kashal 3&1 and then won the press match 1-up to contribute a sensational three points. In Match 9, Zubair Firdaus replicated the feat by beating Wayne Platts 4&3 before adding another point with a 2&1victory in the press. The emphatic team display was rounded off in Match 13 where Craig Vance won his match against Paul Murnaghan 3&2 before halving the press, giving the Mena Golfers team 10 points from a possible 12.

“It's been very enjoyable, the environment that the guys have created with all the spectators and cameras, they make it feel like a professional event which is great and I'm sure it will bring a lot of eyes to the game and grow the game of golf in the region,” said 18 year old Firdaus who has earned a golf scholarship at San Jose State University, US, this summer.

Golfers interested in taking part in the Emirates Amateur Golf League proper, which gets underway later this year, can register at www.eagl.ae and follow the EAGL social media pages for updates.