Encouraged by a solid start to the ‘Gulf Swing’ of the MENA Golf Tour, Luke Joy returns to Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, radiating positive vibes as he looks to defend his title at the Ascorp Abu Dhabi Golf Citizen Open, starting on Monday.

The Englishman racked up a creditable tied seventh-place finish at last week’s Dubai Creek Open, although he felt short of his intended target of retaining the title that his compatriot Jake Shepherd won in a three-way playoff which also included a precocious 15-year-old Indian amateur Rahyan Thomas.

But Joy sounded confident of going the full distance this time around. “Overall, I made a positive start to my time in the Middle East, I need to work on my short game a little as I feel I left a lot of shots out there around the greens,” said Joy, who will be joined by10 former winners on the tour, including perennial contenders Zane Scotland and Joshua White, both of England, in a strong field consisting of a record 127 players, including 26 amateurs.

Scott McCaw, director of Club operations, Khalfan Al Kaabi, chairman of Ascorp Holdings, Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour, and Annie Weihmann, golf events coordinator, pose with the winner’s trophy at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi.

The touring golf professional from Dorset, England, has his work cut with the likes of compatriot Lee Corfield, a three-time winner, and in-form Shepherd joining the fray along with Austria’s Florian Praegant, who will be seeking revenge of sorts after fluffing a one-shot lead at the final hole, which denied him the Dubai Creek Open title on his MENA Golf Tour debut.

Part of a growing army of first-timers who have added more sizzle to the competition, Praegant could well be the man to beat this week, but such is the quality in the field that there are many who stand in the 31-year-old’s way at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, the scene of the MENA Golf Tour’s inaugural tournament in 2011.

Having knocked a bit of rust off their game at the Dubai Creek Open, Miles Tunnicliff and Malcolm Mackenzie, both former European Tour winners from England, will also be hoping to get their ‘A’ game flowing along with Asian Tour veteran Yasin Ali.

Young Thomas, who narrowly missed out on a historic feat of becoming the first amateur to win a MENA Golf Tour event last week, will remain a potent threat on his own as he joins England’s James Allan and Ayoub Lguirati of Morocco in leading the challenge in the amateur division.

Fresh from winning MENA Division at last week’s event in Dubai, Morocco’s Mustapha El Maouas will require another strong finish if he aims to close the gap on compatriots Faycal Serghini, Ahmed Marjane and Amine Joudar in the region’s order of merit for the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation award. The possibilities are almost endless.

Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour, said: “We again have assembled a very strong field and that’s a good reflection on the growing strength of the tour.

“The fact that the first three events on the tour this season has produced a new winner shows the increasing depth of talent of the players. Which is great.

“As we plan to further expand next season, we need corporate houses to come forward and support the tour, which is aimed at the overall development of golf in the region.”

“I am grateful to Khalfan Al Kaabi, chairman of Ascorp, for backing the tournament. Being a golfer himself, Khalfan knows what it takes to string together an event of this stature. We value his support.”

Meanwhile, Scott McCaw, Director of Club Operations at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, said: “We look forward to welcoming back the MENA Golf Tour party. The course has been set up nicely to provide a fair all-round test for the players.

“The course is in great condition. Shifting desert winds will hold the key to going low on this course. The players will have to hit their approach shots in the right places on the undulating greens if they aim to do well,” he said.

Order of Merit table after the Dubai Creek Open (Professionals)

1. Ross McGowan (England) – $13,000

2. Paul Doherty (Scotland) – $10,020

3. Jake Shepherd (England) – $9,636

T4. Lee Corfield (England) – $6,000

T4. Florian Praegant (Austria) – $6,000

Amateurs:

1. James Allan (England) – 92 points

2. Rayhan Thomas (India) – 69

3. Alex Wills (England) – 61