Rai and Ravenscroft off to a flyer as Race to Obidos in Portugal tees off

Pranav Rai (+13) and Oliver Ravenscroft (+1) scored 47 Stableford points to win Event 1 in Season II of the 2023 International Pairs event hosted at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai.

A full field of 104 golfers competed with 52 pairs, a JGE Members-only event over the Fire course in a shotgun start format.

Ravenscroft was the star of the show, shooting a personal gross 69, which included six gross birdies on holes — 3, 8, 12, 13, 15 and 16 over the 7,062 yards set-up.

Partner Rai had a steadier card that turned out to be an adjusted gross 83.

The pair had 23 points on the front nine and 24 points on the back nine starting on hole 12.

Tied second on 45 points were Vidur Sethi (+14) and Bose Prathap (+19) and Mike Wilson (+5) and Paul Ludlam (+13) — both Pairs advancing to the Capital next year.

The top three pairs at each local event qualify for the UAE National Finals at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Saturday 9th March, 2024.

The winning pair of the UAE National Finals go on to represent the UAE in the World Final of the International Pairs – the Race to Obidos in November 2024 at Royal Obidos Spa & Golf Resort and Bom Sucsso Resort in Portugal.

The prizes were presented by JGE Lady Captain Evelyn Downham and was hosted by Adam Stastny, Assistant Golf Services Manager at JGE.

The next event of the 2023 UAE International Pairs Qualifying Series, number two of 14, will be held on Saturday 16th September, 2023 at Al Zorah Golf Club, Ajman and is open to all golfers aged 13 and over with an Official Handicap.

Places are still available and for further information email uae@internationalpairsgolf.com