Former US Amateur champ Matt Fitzpatrick will showcase his unique talents when the rising young star makes his debut on the MENA Golf Tour at the Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open to be held at Al Badia Golf Club from Monday.
Widely regarded as one the most accomplished amateurs before turning professional at this year’s Irish Open, the Englishman will challenge an impressive international field, including the likes of defending champion Zane Scotland, Stephen Dodd, a three-time winner on the European Tour, and Lee Corfield among other former winners on the MENA Golf Tour.
The Sheffield-born prodigy has already been hailed as one of golf’s top prospects. The 20-year-old Fitzpatrick, who is also a golf in DUBAi ambassador, shot to global fame when he became the first golfer since Bobby Jones in 1930 to concurrently hold the low amateur medals for the Open Championship and US Open – a rare double he completed at Pinehurst in 2014.
Introduced to golf at the age of nine by his parents, Fitzpatrick also holds the distinction of being the first Englishman since 1911 to win the US Amateur — the USGA’s oldest trophy — at Brookline, Massachusetts.
Former US Amateur champion Matthew Fitzpatrick set to make his MENA Tour debut next week in Dubai. (Photo – David Lloyd/www.golffile.ie)
With a string of achievements under his belt, the Yorkshireman will be the player to beat when the Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open gets under way at Al Badia Golf Club, but he refuses to get carried away with the hype surrounding his debut.
“I am looking forward to competing on the MENA Golf Tour,” he said.
“It will be my first time on the tour, but I have heard a lot of good things about the tournaments and the city from my friends who are regulars there. I have a great respect for players on the MENA Golf Tour and their tremendous competitiveness.
“Being a golf in DUBAi ambassador, a strong showing will be great. I’m practising really hard to make the most. For me, it’s about building on good rounds, until you get four in a row. Whatever the outcome, it will be an experience to savour,” he added.
Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour, said: “Matt is one of the most exciting young talents in golf, who has already achieved an extraordinary level of success during his short career.
“His stunning achievements as an amateur, in particular, show he has a very bight future. This is just the beginning of his professional career and I wish him the very best.”
The MENA Golf Tour was created in 2011 with the aim of developing golf in the region. It is affiliated to R&A, the worldwide golf governing body based in the home of golf, St Andrews, and the Arab Golf Federation.
