Golf’s Mena Tour will return next month following a two-year hiatus with a four-event series in Thailand, with organisers confirming on Tuesday its 2022 season is set for October and will feature a “strong focus in the Mena region”.
The developmental golf circuit, which took root in the UAE in 2011, will stage the “Beautiful Thailand Swing” across three weeks in Phuket, and will have four 54-hole tournaments. Each carries a $75,000 purse and will be co-sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour (ADT).
The series kicks off with the Laguna Phuket Challenge from May 3-5, followed by the Laguna Phuket Cup (May 8-10), the Blue Canyon Classic (May 13-15) and the Blue Canyon Open (May 18-20). The latter concludes the Mena Tour’s pandemic-impacted 2020 Order of Merit, the “Journey to Jordan”.
The Money List winner will be invited to one of the events in the Asian Tour’s new ‘The International Series’, which includes 10 marquee tournaments worth at least $1.5m each.
The top 10 Order of Merit players will also be awarded playing opportunities in the next two ADT events, with the possibility of earning promotion to the Asian Tour, as well as being exempted to the final stage of Asian Tour Q-School for the 2023 season. In December, the Mena Tour and the Asian Tour signed a strategic alliance, while a statement released by the former on Tuesday said a full merger of the Mena Tour and the ADT is mooted from 2023.
In the statement, Mena Tour commissioner David Spencer said: “We will continue to work more closely with the Asian Tour as there is absolutely no doubt that our combined vision will provide players with the clearest and most defined development pathway in the world of professional golf outside of the USA.”
The most recent Mena Tour event took place in Jordan in March 2020, with the circuit twice attempting to restart before travel restrictions enforced by the pandemic made a resumption impossible.
All current Mena Tour members will be automatically eligible to re-join the tour for the 2022 season with the Official World Golf Ranking underlining that traditional Q-School requirements have been waived this year due to the impact of Covid-19. The Mena Tour has reduced entry fees to $50 for each of the “Beautiful Thailand Swing” events in order to help players compete.
“Obviously, the world is a different place since the pandemic began and we have had to try and figure out how to best adapt and pivot the Mena Tour,” Spencer said.
“At times we know this has been frustrating, but I know all our members will be buoyed by the fact we have always been working to try and improve the tour we created back in 2011.”
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans
Jasmin Mujanović, Hurst Publishers
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia
What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.
