Miles Tunnicliff, a two-time winner on the European Tour, has signed up for the forthcoming Dubai Creek Open, adding significant strength and depth to the MENA Golf Tour.
The seasoned Englishman will join a growing army of emerging players from within and outside the region in the field as he attempts to rediscover the spark in his game he showed when winning the 2002 Great North Open and the Diageo Championship at Gleneagles in 2004.
The 47-year-old veteran, who also plied his trade on the Asian Tour, follows in the footsteps of former European Tour players like the Welsh ace Stephen Dodd and England’s Ross McGowan, who have taken the MENA Golf Tour route to get back to winning ways.
Popular Miles Tunnicliff has joined the MENA Tour.
Surrounded by both opportunity and positive energy, Tunnicliff will be hoping to conjure a strong finish to set the tone for the rest of the season which will see the Englishman compete in the Ascorp Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open and the Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open as well.
No stranger to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the region’s longest-running European Tour event, Tunnicliff, who turned professional in 1989, has made 10 appearances in the ‘Major of the Middle East’ since making his debut in 1997 with a tied 33rd being his best finish in 2008.
Also, a two-time champion of the Mauritius Open in 2004 and 2005, the Englishman will be joined by compatriots Zane Scotland, a former European Tour star, defending champion Luke Joy, Asian Tour veteran Yasin Ali and Joshua White, the winner of the Order of Merit title in 2014, among others who have strung together impressive streaks on the MENA Golf Tour.
“It’s great see European Tour stalwarts like Miles and others support the tour and taking the level of competition to a new high,” said Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour.
“Their presence in the field will motivate emerging players, especially from the region, to step up and be counted. Which is what we want to see,” he added.
“I know invitations to play in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and the Hassan II Trophy are one of the biggest incentives for players, especially for the experienced, for joining the tour, and if we can have other European Tour events in the region offering similar spots, it will further add to the excitement,” he added.
The top three professionals and the leading amateur on the MENA Golf Tour receive special invitations to compete in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in addition to earning exemptions in the Asian Tour qualifying school.
Held under the auspices of the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation and affiliated to the Arab Golf Federation and the R&A, the 2015 MENA Golf Tour teed off in March earlier this year with back-to-back events in Morocco before taking a break to avoid the searing heat of summer in the region.
The tour resumes with the Dubai Creek Open that gets under way with the official practice round on September 13, followed by a 54-hole tournament.
