In a big leap forward the MENA Tour list of tournaments will enjoy World Ranking Points from the opening event of 2016.

A letter still has be sent to Sir Michael Bonnalack, Chairman of the Official World Rankings committee, by the MENA Tour confirming they have satisfied ‘World Ranking’ criteria however Grant Wilson, CEO of the Sunshine Tour, and a member on the World Ranking Committee, indicated once this letter is received it should only be a formality in confirming this new status on the MENA Tour.

Those attending the MENA Tour announcement – Grant Wilson, CEO Sunshine Tour, Darren Clarke and patron MENA Tour, Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Chairman of the MENA Tour & MENA Tour player Zane Scotland.

When asked to explain the situation regarding the allocation of World Ranking points to the MENA Tour he said:  “We have been discussing — let me just step back a bit. If you looked at Official World Golf Rankings, we found at the committee level that there were a lot of smaller, non-structured tours that were being awarded Official World Rankings and certainly two and a half, three years ago, we tabled a motion that there had to be some basic criteria.

“In order to be awarded Official World Golf Rankings, there had to be some criteria. Obviously one of those is an official Q-School. The second is having a formalised relationship with a member federation tour, and a few others; established membership body, and all those good things that most tours offer.

Darren Clarke attending today’s press conference as Patron on the MENA Tour.

“So we went through that process. We meet twice a year, once at Augusta and the other, the second time of the year at The Open Championship, and the MENA Tour in terms of Official World Golf Rankings has been on the agenda for two years. We kind of got to a situation last year in July where we met with David and Mo, and there were just two outstanding issues, and that was the Tour school and that was the formalisation of a relationship with a Federation Tour, and we’ve come through those.

“With the announcement today of us formalising this relationship, a letter will go to the World Rankings today to confirm that, which they have asked for from us, that will happen. And then it will go through due process in terms of the technical committee, circulated to the technical committee, and they will then make a recommendation to the main board. And that could take a couple of weeks; it could take a month, I don’t know, depends on — but hopefully come — I would say that this will all be sorted out within the next month or two. That’s my opinion. Q-School is now a given, which they have accepted.”

Well done to Mohamed on your fine work with the MENA Tour.