Kurup Devanand and Imran Qayyum survived a frustrating final hole to clinch the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s World Corporate Golf Challenge qualifying tournament on December 12.
The duo feared they had blown their chance of victory when they both found the fairway on their last hole, the tricky, water-laden par 4 second following a shotgun start, only to walk off with a single point between them in the combined stableford format.
But some luck earlier in the round – including a 50 foot birdie putt by Qayyum on the par 3 fifth hole – propelled the pair to a winning score of 66 points on a difficult day for scoring at the Creek where thick rough gobbled countless balls and left many in the field exasperated.
Devanand and Qayyum finished a point ahead of Sammy Eldin and Miki Mirza while Joseph Ghossoub and Adonis Nasr completed the podium with 59 points to clinch the last of the three places on offer at the Creek for the WCGC-UAE Grand Final next May.
The winning pair at the May 21 finale, scheduled for the Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, will represent the UAE at the WCGC Final in Cascais, Portugal. The 36-hole world final will be played on the world top-100 ranked Oitavos Dunes Golf Club.
Five further WCGC-UAE qualifying rounds remain ahead of the final with the first event of the new Year scheduled for The Els Club which this week hosts the inaugural Dubai Open, the newest stop and season-ending event on the Asian Tour.
Remaining 2014-15 UAE Qualifiers
2015
January
22nd – The Els Club, Dubai
February
7th – The Montgomerie
19 – Jebel Ali Golf Resort
March
5th – Yas Links Golf Club
April
17th – Jumeirah Golf Estates (Earth)
May
21 – WCGC-UAE Grand Final (JGE/Fire)
